Phoenix Child
by Gylzgurl
Summary: The orginal story belongs to Malli. Xover with HP. (More details inside.)
1. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or the story. The characters belong to Whedon and Rowling. The story belongs to Malli. I am just one of the three people continuing it. To see her previous chapters and the other continuations go to . This is for Malli.

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

"Faith! What are you doing here?" Willow asked, surprised by the appearance of the rugged girl in the middle of their living room.

"I got the portkey B gave me," Faith said. "We've been attacked and we need more help. So grab a weapon and let's go."

_When they opened their eyes again, the gang found themselves trapped inside a room with too many windows and doors, demons and vampires of all varieties pounding to get in._

_Remus turned to Moody thoughtfully. "If Buffy's alive, you'd be the only one to know. None of this fits with your story."_

"_I can't be under a spell," Moody said. "Not for this many years."_

"_And you can't be taken hostage and stored in your own trunk for a year, either," Sirius said. "Oh, wait, that did happen."_

_With a growl at Sirius, Moody consented. "Maybe I am under a spell. If so, take it off immediately."_

"_You are under arrest," Fudge started. "For the impersonation of a Ministry official and for magically controlling the Minister of Magic."_

"_You," she spat, her eyes resting on the one person whose fault all of this was. None of this would have happened if Fudge had not ordered her dead. "This is all your fault."_

**Chapter 37**

Two hours earlier at the ministry, Frank Longbottom was looking for the Minister of Magic. Frank needed a job since he was now conscious but he had not been able to find anything. Frank thought maybe if he talked to Fudge that he could help him find a job so that was where Frank was headed; to the minister's office.

Frank was about to knock on the minister's office door when he heard voices coming from within the room. Eavesdropping in on other people's conversations isn't in any of the Longbottoms' characteristics, but when Frank heard what the voices were saying he couldn't stop himself.

"No! Just listen to me! Do you even know who she is? Where she came from before this? No one has heard of a Sarah Fox. She doesn't seem to exist and she certainly didn't work at the ministry before. In any department."

"What?"

"She's controlling you somehow; she never registered her wand, the guard barely remembers her, and she went up against the Malfoys! You would never let her do that unless she's been controlling you, getting what she wants. She's ruining all our plans for Hogwarts, or haven't you noticed? We had Mr. Potter cornered and he was going to be expelled, and then she comes along. Every scrape he's gotten himself into, she's been there to brush it all away on some technicality or something. We're loosing our grip on the school and the situation! She must be stopped."

"Why didn't I see it before?!"

"She's been controlling you, sir."

"Controlling the Minister of Magic. Even Dumbledore can't get her out of this scrape! She's going to have a lifetime sentence in Azkaban for this and I'll have to make sure Dumbledore goes in with her; it seems as though he's been behind this attack on me the whole time. Then you can have control of the school and the Potter problem will be solved quickly, I'm sure."

"Excellent, Minister. What's our course of action?"

"We must catch her unawares and do it in front of quite a few people so she can't get away. Accusing her and Dumbledore with plenty of witnesses around."

"Tonight at dinner?"

"Perfect. I want dementors waiting outside, but don't let them in. Merlin knows I don't want them around me, and I'm sure Dumbledore will be able to do something if they're in his precious school. I'll have fifteen Aurors walk in with me. Hopefully she'll be blissfully unaware when we blast through the doors."

_That's it_, Frank thought to himself. _I don't care who Sarah Fox really is. She saved mine and my wife's life and Neville looks up to her. I will not let the minister put her in Azkaban. I have to warn her. Hopefully I won't be too late._

Without hesitation Sirius said the necessary incantation to break any spells Moody might have been put under. As soon as he said it the lights flickered out and the wind started blowing around Moody. Just as soon as the spell started, the spell ended. Sirius relit the candles with help from his wand and the winds died down until all was silent. Sirius saw Moody kneeled over where he stood and went over to his friend's side.

"Oh no," Moody whispered. "What have I done?"

"Moody," Sirius asked, "are you alright? What happened?"

"Oh no," Moody said again. "Buffy…she isn't…she's not…"

"She's not what?"

"She's not dead… There was a spell to make sure everyone thought she was dead. The minister told me to… oh no, the minister ordered me to… oh no."

"Moody!" Sirius yelled to get Moody's attention. "What spell? What does the minister have to do with this? Aside from the fact that he's a slimy git…No, wait, that's Snape. But close enough."

"The minister told me to…Fudge ordered me to kill her but I couldn't do it. So I transfigured a branch to look like her body and brought it back to show that she was dead."

"Moody, what did you do to Buffy?"

"I sent her away from here and gave her new memories. The spell I did to change her memories should have stayed. There was no way to break that spell. It was too strong. How does she remember?"

"She's really back?" Sirius asked Moody with tears threatening to form. "Buffy's back?"

"Yes, Buffy's bac--oh no!" Moody exclaimed as he hurriedly tried to get to his feet. "Fudge is here! We have to stop him from harming Buffy!"

Meanwhile in the Great Hall all of the students were silent as their DADA teacher yelled at the Minister of Magics. "This is all your fault," she exclaimed. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you, you bastard."

Buffy started towards Fudge when the other ministry workers and Aurors swooped in on all sides with their wands pointed directly at her. "Stop right there," one of the aurous called out. "Don't move," yelled another. "We've got you surrounded."

_What is this,_ Buffy thought, _an episode of Cops? Next thing you know they'll be handcuffing me and reading me my Miranda rights._

"You, Sarah Fox, or whatever your real name is," Fudge addressed her, "you are under arrest for the impersonation of a ministry official and the use of magic to control the Minister of Magic, yours truly." To the Aurors, "Arrest her and use any means to do so."

"What," Buffy said. "No right to a lawyer? Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?" All that met her question was silence. _Guess not_, she thought,_ but I can't let them take me. Not now that I'm so close_.

"Hand over your wand or we'll take it from you," one of the Aurors informed her.

"I'd like to see you try," Buffy retorted as the doors to the Great Hall flew open and both Frank Longbottom and Alastor Moody raced in.

"No!" They both screamed out at the same time.

"She's not evil," Frank shouted to the Aurors.

"It's not what you think," Moody called out the same time as Frank.

T.B.C.


	2. Chapter 38

**Authors Note:** I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. I am sorry that the first chapter was not very long but at the time that I was writing chapter 37 I was also conducting and writing an extensive analysis/research paper for my German class and I was very busy. I will try to make the future chapters longer but I cannot promise anything... I know I am not Malli but I hope you enjoy.

**Authors Note 2:** I really want to bring Spike in and I'm thinking of making him related to the Malfoys... maybe. I just don't know how I'm gonna do it. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. Thanx.

**Feedback:** If you're really good and review I'll give ya a cookie! : )

**Chapter 38**

All in the Great Hall had gone silent with the interruptions of Frank Longbottom and Alastor Moody. Fudge looked as if he were about to explode but before another work could be said Professor Dumbledore stepped forward from his place at the head table and walked over to where the Minister of Magic stood. All eyes followed his move and when the headmaster spoke all ears were trained on him.

"As interesting as this conversation seems to be going," Dumbledore started, "I do not believe it is appropriate for the entire student body. I believe I can make adequate room in my office for everyone."

"As much as I hate to delay this… conversation, Albus, I believe you are correct," Fudge said before he changed his demeanor and attention over to Buffy. "If you make a move to escape any means will be taken to subdue and control you… Now move it! You heard the headmaster."

Professor Dumbledore quickly dismissed the students to their common rooms and somewhat reluctantly the two doors swung open as the students left. As soon as the students were gone from the Great Hall Professor Dumbledore left as well. The professors and Aurors followed suit traveling the way to the headmaster's office.

Buffy was at a loss to what was going to happen. She didn't know what to do. If she told the ministry her true identity then everyone would know she was alive and back. If everyone knew her true identity then there would be no time at all until Voldermort knew as well. If Voldermort knew that she was back then he would most likely send out his death eaters to try and kill her again. Buffy had enough evil beings trying to kill her and she didn't need to add more to the list… just yet anyway. But if she didn't tell the ministry her true identity then they would assume she was evil and working _for_ Voldermort, not _against_ him. If the ministry assumed that she was working for Voldermort then she could be killed, or even worse… thrown into Azkaban for life.

Buffy was faced with a dilemma and she did not know which option was better. If she told the truth about her identity then she could be killed and if she didn't tell the truth then she could still be killed. _Well, if I'm killed then I can always come back_, she thought to herself hiding a smirk. _I wonder what Fudge will say then_.

The stone walls leading to the headmaster's office were lit with torches and the paintings followed the group as they went. Soon they reached the designated office and everyone piled inside. Buffy didn't know if it was just her but Dumbledore's seemed to have grown since she was last inside it. _Probably to comfortably compensate everyone_, she thought. _Ha, look at me, I used a big word and it made sense too…Too bad Giles wasn't here to hear it. He'll never believe me if I tell him_. There were even extra chairs for everyone. _A lot of extra chairs_, she thought as she glanced around the room. Fawks immediately flew over to her and landed on her shoulder. Buffy absentmindedly started petting her friend, oblivious to Dumbledore intriguingly watching her actions with the bird.

"Well, don't just stand there, girl," Fudge sneered at her while painfully poking her in her side. "You're holding everyone up. Move it!"

_Ouch!_ Buffy thought as she moved to sit down. _Doesn't he know any other words? He kinda reminds me of Snyder…I wonder if I can get Voldermort to eat him. He's snakelike now…right?_

"Everyone please take a seat," Dumbledore told everyone, keeping his gaze on Buffy. "I believe there is a lot to discuss starting with who Miss Fox really is."

"Well, I'm … um… I … I can't… uh…" Buffy stuttered. _Oh no, what am I gonna do? I can't tell them the truth. It's not time yet,_ she thought. "…I'm, uh…"

"Miss Fox, whoever you really are," Fudge started, "If you do not will not willingly tell us what we need to know then I'm afraid matters will be out of my hands. You are not in any of the ministry's files and you have been magically controlling me… If you don't tell me what I want to know then I will get the dementors to come and escort you to Azkaban immediately. I believe there is a nice little cell with your name on it… Now I am going to-"

"You leave her alone!" Frank Longbottom yelled. "I don't care what her real name is. She's a good person. She-"

"I was talking," the minister yelled. "Don not interrupt me or else you will be excused along with-"

"No!" Frank yelled at the minister. "She's a good person and I won't let you put her in Azkaban. She was the one who sa-"

"No!" Buffy yelled, pleading with her eyes to Frank to keep quiet about his wife and his recovery. "No, I… um…" _Come on_, Buffy thought. _Think… Hurry up and think of something…you have to say something. Everyone's starring… Think!_ "I've been… um… I've, uh…"

"She's been… she's been working for me," Moody said, quickly thinking.

"Working for you?" Fudge asked dubiously. "What exactly has she been doing for you, Alastor? And why wasn't I informed?"

"She…well, you know how paranoid I am and I…" Moody started trying desperately to think of something to tell the rat faced minister. "…I wanted to make sure that no one was… after information to harm Harry. I wanted to be sure."

"Alastor," Fudge said, "I do not care if you are paranoid. If what you say is true, it still does not matter in this instance. We do not have any files on her. No one in the ministry has ever seen or heard of her before. No one by the name of Sarah Fox has ever existed, not in this country or another. She can and will still be arrested and put into the ministry's care for impersonating a member of our society and a member of the Ministry of Magic."

Buffy decided that no matter what she were to try, the minister was going to find out about her one way or another. She decided since he would find something out anyway that she was going to be in charge of what he found, not the other way around. _It's now or nev- well just now_, she thought to herself. _But it'll be by my rules._

"I am on your files," Buffy said openly smirking at the minister. "Many of them actually."

The minute she spoke those words everyone quieted and all eyes and ears turned to her. It was so silent Buffy would have bet you could hear a pin drop from the other side of the castle. Well, that is until the minister opened his mouth, ruining the moment of silence.

"What!?" Fudge shouted. "You are not on any of our files! If you were then I would know."

"Yes, I am," Buffy said calmly. "In fact I have my own department especially for me."

"You do not!" the minister shouted at her.

"Do to."

"You do not!"

"Do to."

"Do not!"

"Do to," Buffy told him. She did all she could to keep from laughing flat out. "And aren't you such a five year old."

As much as Buffy and everyone else was enjoying seeing the Minister of Magic act like a small child Dumbledore intervened before it could go on any further.

"Miss… Fox," Dumbledore said to her. "Maybe you should inform us how exactly you are in those files, starting with your name and how you have come in contact with Alastor Moody."

"My name, huh?" Buffy asked before she went on. "Wouldn't you like to know my favorite color or something like that instead?"

"Miss Fox," Dumbledore stressed her 'name', clearly irritated. "Answer the question."

Buffy slouched down in partial defeat. Now everyone was going to know her identity._ Or one of them anyway_, she thought before she responded with an American accent. "My name is Buffy Summers."

She looked around the room. Everyone went silent again after hearing her statement. Everyone in the room with the exception of the minister had looks of stun and awe on their faces. The minister just sported a look of confusion.

"What?!" Fudge asked, annoyed at the fact everyone knew something he didn't. He was the minister of the bloody place and he was supposed to know first. "What is it?!"

"Minister," one of the Aurors said with awe in their voice. "She's The Slayer. She's The Chosen One."

T.B.C.


	3. Chapter 39

**Author's Note:** As you've noticed I've changed my name. I've been using two but lately I've decided to just use the one, and Glyzgurl was the winner in the end. I also have a story I just started. It's posted on under the same name.

**Author's Note 2:** The spell used in this chapter was pieced together from spells used by Willow, Giles, and the Gypsy woman in the episodes Passion and Becoming Pt 1 & 2. The spell is in both Latin and Rumanian.

**Author's Note 3:** I would like to thank April, Goddessa39, Mike, Jackie, Monique, Caitlin, Dru'id the Druid, and anyone else who reviewed that I forgot to mention. You guys rock. Keep reviewing…Well, on with the story. Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy.

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

"_Faith! What are you doing here?" Willow asked, surprised by the appearance of the rugged girl in the middle of their living room._

"_I got the portkey B gave me," Faith said. "We've been attacked and we need more help. So grab a weapon and let's go."_

"_But what about Buf-" Willow asked._

"_There's no time," Faith interrupted. "We have to go now! We're holding them off for the moment, but we're gonna need some magical help to keep them back."_

"_Okay," Willow said._

"_This thing only works twice, so everyone hold on," Faith said, holding out the old stake Buffy had used. "Slayer Headquarters!" Faith yelled, causing a tug to pull on everyone's navel._

_When they opened their eyes again, the gang found themselves trapped inside a room with too many windows and doors, demons and vampires of all varieties pounding to get in._

"_Oh my goddess," Willow breathed, shocked at the shear number of demons._

"_Good Lord," Giles said, picking up his weapon of choice and brandishing it well._

"_Let's get to work, Red," Faith said._

**Chapter 39**

Faith hefted her fighting ax in the air, preparing for the upcoming battle they were about to face. Upon her cue, everyone took fighting stances and held their various weapons tightly. No one wanted to be unarmed when the vampires and numerous demons finally broke down the door or actually learned how to use one. Correctly that is.

It didn't take long for the demons and vampires to gain entrance into the room the Scooby Gang and Slayers were trapped in. Once one door broke open it seemed all of them did. Soon the room was swarming with vampires and demons of every kind imaginable. There were shape-shifters, primals, zombies, Fyarl demons, Chaos demons, and even hellhounds. There were demons and vampires of all shape and size, and some even other demons themselves feared. In every corner of the room the Scoobies and Slayers were fighting for their lives. Axes and swords were being swung and crossbow bolts and arrows were flying through the air, slicing off limbs and tentacles and embedding themselves in both the dead and the living. Fortunately for the Scoobies and Slayers, more in the dead and undead variety.

"Red!" Faith shouted to Willow. "There's too many of them. We can't take them all. Hurry up and work some of your mojo!"

"I'm…trying," Willow grunted back, just narrowly missing a pair of deadly looking claws. "I could use some help over here ya know. I don't exactly have slayer strength like some people."

"Touché," Faith called back, slicing off the head of a Regurgitating demon and making her way through the crowd towards Willow. "And eww! Remind me to wear one of B's shirts next time. They might even look better afterwards. Her tastes suck…pun intended."

"Faith," Giles reprimanded. "I do not believe now is the time…(grunt)…for your…(grunt)…antics. Just plunge and mo-"

"And move on," Faith continued. "I know."

Faith started back in on the fighting, making her way to Willow through the throng of vampires and demons. She was holding her own for now but she wasn't sure for how long. _Damn._ Faith thought to herself, staking vampire after vampire. _They won't stop coming. How does B do it?_

Willow was so lost in her thoughts at the moment that she didn't notice the new players who just entered into the fray. They came out of nowhere and were hooded in black robes…and they seemed to be making their way towards where she and Faith stood. Fortunately for her, Faith did see them.

"Yo, Red!" Faith shouted at her friend above the noise of the ongoing battle. "You might want to hurry up with that spell. We've got company and something tells me these boys play rough."

Willow looked up just in time to see the Death Eaters heading her way. She had to think quick and she hoped that Faith would watch her back. She needed to concentrate and she couldn't do that if she was worrying about becoming a demons snack.

"Te implor Doamne, nu ignora accasta rugaminte! (I call on you, gods, do not ignore this supplication!)" Willow chanted over the clamor. "Te invoc, spirit al trecerii… his verbes, consensus rescissus est. (Spirits of the interregnum, I call…by these words, consent repealed.) " _Almost done_, Willow thought. _I just need Faith to hold them back a little longer…Wait a minute. Where's Faith! She was right here. I know she was. Faith!_ Willow momentarily forgot about the spell as she struggled to find the brunette slayer in the crowded room but to no arrival.

"Willow!" Giles called to her. "Now is not the time. Finish the spell! Hurry!"

"Asa sa fie! (Let it be so!)" Willow started her chant again. "Acum! (Now!)"

As soon as the battle started, it finished even more quickly. All demons and vampires were all thrown out of the building. The once left living that is…or undead as their cases might be. The Death Eaters were even missing from the building but Willow had more important things to worry about right now. She looked around the room at the dead bodies and sighed in relief that none of them were theirs. A few were unconscious and many if not everyone was injured. Some were injured more that others but they should all live.

"Faith!" Willow called out, looking for her fellow Scooby. "Faith… You guys," she addressed the gang. "Has anyone seen Faith? I can't find her anywhere."

The gang all looked at each other before Xander replied on behalf of everyone standing. "We thought she was with you."

The room Faith was in was every definition of a dungeon. It was dark, dank, cold, and the air was stale. Faith started to regain her consciousness but stayed down and pretended to still be asleep when she felt that she was not entirely alone. She peaked through her eyelids and dimly saw two hooded figures not ten twenty feet from where her body lay. She recognized the voice of one of them from Slayer Headquarters, but the other one just sent chills down her spine. That was a voice she couldn't forget, no matter how hard she tried.

"That is all, Lusssciousss," the voice hissed out. "Leave usss now. I believe our guessst isss awake."

"Yes, my Lord," Luscious bowed before following orders and leaving the two of them alone.

Faith bolted upright and into a fighting stance as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started inching towards her. "Stay away from me or I'll make you," she threatened him as he came closer, not missing a stride. Faith tried desperately to keep the fear out of her voice. "Get away from me… I'll kill you."

"Why, Faith," Voldermort said as he came to a stop in front of her and put a hand to her face. "Isss that any way to great your father?"

T.B.C.


	4. Chapter 40

**Author's Note:** This is the only time I will say this so listen up: I am not Malli and I am not going to try to be. No one can, so don't criticize me solely for the fact that we don't have the same writing style. I am not trying to sound mean, I am just trying to get a point across…I am not Malli but I hope you enjoy my continuation nonetheless.

**Author's Note 2:** I need someone to beta my work. If you are seriously interested in this job, let me know. It'd be greatly appreciated.

**Author's Note:** I know the Minister is kinda out of character in this chappie (and probably more to come), but I really don't like him. Can ya tell? 'Sided, he kinda reminds me of the impotent Nazi with the bug up his butt the size of an emu (Snyder). : )

**Author's Note 4:** Thank you to Anne-Marie, Black Cat Gurl, Dru'id the Druid, Hidden in the Darkness, Wild320, Vixen519, liit06, Mama T, Goddessa39 (my loyal reviewer so far), BakaNeko & the Y group, Kastia, SilverPunk with an attitude, lostbabanna, and Aprilise for reviewing.. Thank you guys sooooooo much! I love your reviews and questions about the story line will reviel themselves in time. Review again. (Since you can't see me, just picture a mix of Willow's resolve face and Buffy's pout… a lethal combination.) Now on with the story…

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

"_Miss Fox," Dumbledore stressed her 'name', clearly irritated. "Answer the question."_

_Buffy slouched down in partial defeat. Now everyone was going to know her identity. Or one of them anyway, she thought before she responded with an American accent. "My name is Buffy Summers."_

_She looked around the room. Everyone went silent again after hearing her statement. Everyone in the room with the exception of the minister had looks of stun and awe on their faces. The minister just sported a look of confusion._

"_What?!" Fudge asked, annoyed at the fact everyone knew something he didn't. He was the minister of the bloody place and he was supposed to know first. "What is it?!"_

"Minister," one of the Aurors said with awe in their voice. "She's The Slayer. She's The Chosen One."

**Chapter 40**

Everyone currently in Dumbledore's office leaned forward in his or her chair, or standing places as it may be, to see what the minister's reaction would be to that little tidbit of information. Out of all the people in the room, Fudge should have been one of the first people in the room to know who the current Slayer was. Many people were even curious as to if he even knew what one was. He wouldn't know a Slayer if it staked him through the heart, thought one of the Aurors. Just because the Aurors worked for the Ministry of Magic, and subsequently Fudge, that didn't mean they had to like him. If that were the case then Umbridge would be the only person (?) there other than the Minister himself… Oh, and maybe Percy. But then again Percy never had the best of tastes. He liked Scabbers didn't he? 'Nuff said.

"I don't bloody well care what she is," came the Minister's obtuse reply. "She is evil and I want her arrested immediately!"

Fudge looked around the room, expecting something to be done. After all, he was the Minister. When no one moved from their spots and all looked at him instead of at her (Buffy), the Minister was not only extremely confused but also infuriated. Why aren't they listening to me?! Fudge thought to himself. I tell them to bring me a cup a tea and they're supposed to say "What kind?". What is wrong with these people? They should be listening to me, not her, ME! Me, me, me…doesn't anyone care she was controlling me with a spell? That's it! The Minister dried in his head. They're all under her spell. That's why they won't listen to me.

"You are all under her spell!" The Minister cried out to everyone, or more like squeaked to everyone. "I probably just escaped her clutches because I'm the Minister of Magic and am too powerful for her… Don't you see? She's controlling you all! This madness has to stop!"

It certainly does, thought Moody. The question is, how to get rid of you?

At this point everyone listening to the Minister was either trying desperately not to laugh (again), or too much in shock by his behavior to do much of anything at the moment. Buffy on the other hand could not control it any longer and burst out laughing. This caused others to come forward with their laughter. It was quite plentiful. The Minister however did not find the situation at all funny. Fudge despised laughter almost as much as Umbridge, and he certainly did not like when the laughter was directed at him… again. But instead of focusing any of his attention on the room full of laughing people, he concentrated all of it on a certain flaxen head seated across the table in near hysterics, ready to fall off her chair at any given moment.

"You take the spell off right NOW!" he yelled at her. "Take it off or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Buffy calmed down enough to ask. "Order me dead?" But wait, you already did that Buffy bitterly thought. And you didn't even have the balls to do it yourself. You really are a coward and way worse than Snyder ever was…I still say Moldywart should have you for dinner, and not in the date kind of way either. "Besides, it's not like they'll let you."

"It's not like who will let me?" Fudge questioned her with an eyebrow raised. Does she really think she has enough power to control the Aurors and Dumbledore to let her walk free after what she did to me? I should think not.

"The PTB," Buffy answered calmly, now free from all her laughter.

"The person that can make me do anything is me," Fudge sneered. "And what exactly is the PTB?"

"That would be who exactly are the PTB, Minister," the last part said with her own sneer that the Minister did not notice. Can this guy get anymore dense?

"Excuse me?!" Fudge seemed even more outraged at that point, it that's even possible.

I guess not Buffy thought before replying. "The PTB are a who, not a what. I don't think they would appreciate being talked about as a what. They're extremely powerful beings. But to answer you question, the PTB are the fucking Powers that Be… bastards."

"If they are so powerful then why are you talking about them using… crude language? Shouldn't you be more careful about what you say about them?" The Minister asked.

"What can I say?" Buffy said, leaning back in her chair with her feet placed on the table and hands behind her head. "The Powers and I have a love/hate relationship." And then added after seeing everyone's confused looked at that statement, "You know, they love to torment me and I hate them for it."

Before Fudge could answer back this time Dumbledore interrupted him. "As much as I am enjoying this… meeting, it is getting exceedingly late and the students need to be attended to. I suggest we continue this someplace with a more formal setting, and at a later date."

"Professor-" Fudge tried to object while Buffy looked over at the Minister with a smug look on her face.

"That is quite enough!" Dumbledore told the Minister. "This meeting will continue at another time. Do not make me repeat it, Cornelius. Miss F… Summers was only performing her duties. I have every faith in Alastor and if he says that he hired Miss Summers to look out for the welfare of Harry then that is what she was hired to do. Surely even you, Minister, will not object to protecting Harry. After all, the state of his welfare reflects onto you. You are the Minister of Magic. Besides, there is no solid proof that you were being controlled by Miss Summers. But just to be on the safe side, she shall remain in my custody. She shall not leave Hogwarts ground and it is well known that these grounds are impenetrable, to enter or leave. I assure you she will not leave my sight."

That seemed to pacify the Minister a somewhat, but not much. Buffy still looked extremely smug. "And Miss Summers," Dumbledore added. "I suggest you remove your feet from my table unless you wish to join the Minister." Her feet were immediately removed from his beloved tabletop, and the smirk removed itself as well. "That's what I thought… Well, Minister, have a lovely night. Do try to get some sleep. It will do you some good."

As soon as the Minister, Frank Longbottom, and the Aurors filed out of the room and left the castle Dumbledore immediately turned to Alastor Moody. "I hope you have a good explanation on why you are trusting Miss… Summers. I am placing an extreme amount of faith on you."

"I do, Albus," Moody told him. "Do remember the night Elizabeth Potter was killed?"

"Of course I do, Alastor," Dumbledore said. "But what does this have to do with Miss Summers?"

"I'm getting there," Moody said before continuing. "You see, Elizabeth Potter wasn't killed that night… Fudge ordered me to kill her but I couldn't do it. Not to Elizabeth, she was so young and innocent. It wasn't her fault. Since I couldn't kill her I changed her memory and sent her to America with a new identity of Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers is Elizabeth Potter."

Dumbledore, as well as everyone had surprised expressions on their faces that quickly changed into ones of confusion. Dumbledore was the first to speak, as usual. "Now all we need to do is figure out what Miss Summers has to do with Elizabeth Potter."

**A/N:** Sound familiar? The first person to guess what is going on gets a cookie.


	5. Chapter 41

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank ... well I was gonna list everyone and say who got cookies but for some reason the stat part of my account with that info won't open for some reason. I'm just gonna have to post all of your names in the next update because I'm pretty sure you'll want this update without further delay... Did that make sense, 'cause it did in my head. Oh well, on with the chapter.

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

_As soon as the Minister, Frank Longbottom, and the Aurors filed out of the room and left the castle Dumbledore immediately turned to Alastor Moody. "I hope you have a good explanation for why you are trusting Miss Summers. I am placing an extreme amount of faith on you."_

_"I do, Albus," Moody told him. "Do you remember the night Elizabeth Potter was killed?"_

_"Of course I do, Alastor," Dumbledore said. "But what does this have to do with Miss Summers?"_

_"I'm getting there," Moody said before continuing. "You see, Elizabeth Potter wasn't killed that night Fudge ordered me to kill her but I couldn't do it. Not to Elizabeth, she was so young and innocent. It wasn't her fault. Since I couldn't kill her I changed her memory and sent her to America with a new identity of Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers is Elizabeth Potter."_

_Dumbledore, as well as everyone had surprised expressions on their faces that quickly changed into ones of confusion. Dumbledore was the first to speak, as usual. "Now all we need to do is figure out what Miss Summers has to do with Elizabeth Potter."_

_Faith bolted upright and into a fighting stance as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started inching towards her. "Stay away from me or I'll make you," she threatened him as he came closer, not missing a stride. Faith tried desperately to keep the fear out of her voice. "Get away from me I'll kill you."_

_"Why, Faith," Voldermort said as he came to a stop in front of her and put a hand to her face. "Isss that any way to great your father?"_

**Chapter 41**

_Oh no,_ Buffy thought to herself. _Not again. Wasn't one Glory incident enough to deal with? Now I feel like I'm dealing with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Haven't I done enough? And now the Powers have to put me through this crap? Haven't they meddled with my life enough as it is? But no, I have to constantly save their asses once again and be their stupid butt-monkey while I'm doing it...don't I just _love_ my life? Not. Oh well, guess I've got to step in here before Moody gets a headache big enough to blow his head off. Metaphorically of course, 'cause otherwise, eww._

"We know each other really well," Buffy said, talking about Elizabeth Potter, a.k.a. herself. "We're like two peas in a pod."

"You know Elizabeth Potter?" Professor Dumbledore asked her. "Personally?"

"What?" Moody started to asked, now confused himself. "No, you don't understand, Professor. Miss Fox/Summers _is_ Elizabeth Potter. Not that she knows her. Buffy, what are talking about?"

"What Moody means to say, Albus," Buffy nervously started out, "Can I call you Albus?" After receiving a curt nod she continued. "What Moody means to say is that since I know Elizabeth so well it's like I _am_ her," she finished off with a timid laugh.

"Of course, Miss Summers," Dumbledore explained to her slowly, as if to a small child. "I know. Everyone knows what Alastor meant to say because that is exactly what he said. Do you need to lay down? Maybe go see the nurse? You don't seem at your best right now."

"Well of course he said that," Buffy awkwardly laughed, having momentarily forgotten about the effects of the spell. They won't 'hear' the truth unless it were to come from her own mouth. Until then, they would just hear what the spell intends them to hear about her, absolutely diddly squat. And that was completely fine with her. "I probably just heard him wrong."

"Miss Summers, are you positive you are feeling alright? I could simply escort you myself to the hospital wing," Dumbledore offered.

"No!" Buffy quickly yelled out in a fear-laced voice and everyone turned to stare at her.( Not that they weren't staring already, it's just that... oh never mind). "I'm fine!"

"Miss Summers, you do seem at all 'fine'," Professor Dumbledore stated. "Perhaps if you just-"

"No!" Buffy screamed, even though she tried not to but fear got the better of her. "Please no hospital! Please," she pleaded sounding very much like a scared little girl. "I'm fine, really. I just hate hospitals. Please don't make me go to one please."

"Alright," Dumbledore finally relented. "But you must rest and I'm afraid that I can not allow you leave unaccompanied, at least not until everything is cleared up. You understand?"

"I understand," Buffy solemnly answered her old headmaster.

Before Dumbledore could make any other instructions Moody spoke up. "Albus, if I may escort Miss Summers to her bedchambers myself? We have a lot to catch up on since we saw each other last. And this way she is not left alone."

Professor Dumbledore seemed to take a moment to think of Moody's proposal before he responded to his question. "That is alright, Alastor. But I wish to speak with both of you tomorrow. After a well rested sleep of course. Good night, Alastor, Miss Fox."

Each professor went to their own respective rooms; Dumbledore went to where ever he usually goes at night, and Buffy and Moody made their way in silence to her room at the other end of the castle. Buffy always knew her room was quite a ways away from the headmasters office but walking there in uncomfortable silence made if seem like miles. Once the two wizards reached her room Buffy said the password and opened the door wide enough to allow Moody entrance without ever having to utter an invite. _I lived on the Hellmouth for way too long,_ Buffy ruefully thought. _But you can never be too careful._

After walking and now sitting in silence for several minutes that seemed like endless hours, Buffy spoke up first. "Not that I'm not glad that you saved my butt back there, 'cause I am, it's just how do you...?"

"How do I know?" Moody asked her.

"Yeah," Buffy answered. "I mean, the spell isn't supposed to let anyone know my true identity, so how do you know?"

"I had a suspicion that something was amiss and that I should have known it. So I had Sirius perform a spell to clear up my memory and... wait a minute. What spell are you talking about? I cast that spell after I had sent you away. There was no way you could have known about that. What are you talking about?"

"The spell that Willow and I cast to confuse everyone so they don't figure out my true identity. What are you talking about?"

"The spell I used to clear my memory of sending you away incase anyone ever questioned me about your whereabouts. I wanted to ensure your safety," Moody informed her. "But that doesn't answer how you know of your identity. How it that by the way?"

"That's kind of a long story," Buffy told him. "Are you sure you want to hear all of it or do you want the abridged version? You look kinda tired."

"How long will the long version take?"

"A few hours at least and the directors cut of Titanic."

"The directors cut of Titanic?"

"About four hours cut. The directors cut is at least a couple hours longer."

"I'll take the short version for now," Moody replied.

"Alright," she said. "I became the slayer, killed Lothos, burned down the school gym and got expelled, moved to the Hellmouth, got killed by the Master, killed the Master, dated an ensouled Angelus the Scourge of Europe , slept with and later killed Angelus, got expelled again, ran away, came back, dated an ensouled Angelus again, killed the mayor, blew up the high school, worked with a secretive military operation, became a mighty slayer, almost got killed by the first slayer in my dreams, dropped out of college, got a fourteen year-old sister, found my mom dead, fought a god, died again, went to heaven, was resurrected about five months later and was pulled out of heaven by my friends, clawed my way out of my grave, had sex with William the Bloody, tried to kill all of my friends, nearly lost my sister to social services, died again briefly, watched my best friend nearly destroy the world, got kicked out of my own house by potential slayers and my own sister, defeated the First Evil, destroyed the Hellmouth and Sunnydale, not to mention another school, found out my life I knew was a lie, and here I am. You pretty much know the rest."

Moody sat there for a minute trying to take it all in. "I think I'll regret saying this come morning but tell me the long version."

So Buffy told him the long version. She told him everything that had happened since she last saw him all those years ago. She told him about everything from her cheerleading days at Hermery and Merrik's death to the final battle with the First. He laughed when she told him about Xander's antics and the Buffy-falls-on-her-butt stories and he held her as she cried and told him about Angel, Angelus, Spike, Tara, and her mom. She told him everything she had been put through and the more he heard, the more she endeared herself to him.T.B.C.


	6. Note

I won't beable to update for another one or two weeks at the soonest. I'm sorry for the delay but I have tons of homework and if I ignore my homework to write fanfic then my grades will drop, I'll be grounded from the computer, and I won't be able to update for a really long time. But until then plot bunnies and ideas you want to see are always welcome. Infact, consider this a summons for ideas, no matter how crazy they are. If I don't use them for this fic then I can always use them for another one in the future. Also a hint, more reviews and ideas from my wonderful readers will help me write faster. (Yes, I am sucking up. Is it working or do I need to try harder to get you guys to respond?) Anyways, please review wnd send me your ideas and plot bunnies... as long as they're not evil trying to take over the world with their fluffyness. I mean, why do they need to multiply so much anyway? I'm telling you, they're trying to take over the world with help of the government. It's all a big conspiracy... but not my story, so please respond you wonderful readers you. I need and want your ideas.

-Gylzgurl


	7. Chapter 42

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed as it was greatly appreciated. Your questions will be answered as the story goes on. If they aren't then ask and I'll try to clear everything up. And thanx to Chris for editing this chapter.

**Author's Note 2:** I know one of Malli's notes from her original story was that after Buffy jumped into the portal at the end of season 5 the PTB erased Dawn and all memories of her, and then last chapter I mentioned a 14 year-old sister (Dawn), but I just figured that when the PTB did their mojo Buffy was technically dead, therefore Buffy's mind was not tempered with (again) and she (and she alone) retained the memories of Dawn... Wow! Was that a sentence? Also, I don't really remember how Giles described the beginning of the Earth so I'm improvising.

**Author's Note 3:** I passed my drivers test today! On the first try, too! Woohoo!… Okay, so I'm a little excited. So what? Anyways, in order to celebrate I believe this chapter deserves a lot of reviews. Hint, hint, wink

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

"_Faith!" Willow called out, looking for her fellow Scooby. "Faith… You guys," she addressed the gang. "Has anyone seen Faith? I can't find her anywhere."_

_The gang all looked at each other before Xander replied on behalf of everyone standing. "We thought she was with you."_

_Faith tried desperately to keep the fear out of her voice. "Get away from me… I'll kill you."_

"_Why, Faith," Voldermort said as he came to a stop in front of her and put a hand to her face. "Isss that any way to great your father?"_

_Moody sat there for a minute trying to take it all in. "I think I'll regret saying this come morning but tell me the long version."_

_So Buffy told him the long version. She told him everything that had happened since she last saw him all those years ago. She told him about everything from her cheerleading days at Hermery and Merrik's death to the final battle with the First. He laughed when she told him about Xander's antics and the Buffy-falls-on-her-butt stories and he held her as she cried and told him about Angel, Angelus, Spike, Tara, and her mom. She told him everything she had been put through and the more he heard, the more she endeared herself to him._

**Chapter 42**

"I think it's time to call a meeting," Harry told Hermione and Ron quietly as they sat in their common room, careful not to let anyone else hear him. "We need to call another meeting and soon. I don't know who Professor Fox really is or what she's up to and I don't want to take any chances."

"Okay, is Friday good?" Hermione asked, looking at her calendar quickly.

"No," Harry replied to her. "I don't want to wait that long. Is there any way we can call one any time sooner? Please, Hermione."

"Well, I guess if I rearrange this and put that there and then… Yes!" Hermione quietly exclaimed. "We can have it tomorrow night after dinner. Is that soon enough?"

"Oh, Hermione, I could kiss you!" Harry cried out, giving Hermione a friendly hug.

"Hey!" Ron hissed at him. "Watch the hands!"

Both Harry and Hermione pulled away at the outburst from Ron and looked at him like he had grown a second or even a third or fourth head.

"Ron?" Harry attentively asked one of his two best friends. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh yeah, of course I am," Ron yammered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," Harry told him while making a mental not to himself that they needed to have a talk later before he turned and addressed Hermione. "So, tomorrow night then?"

"You got it," she said. "I'll go and activate the coins in a minute."

At this point most of the students have already left the common room and gone to bed. Except for one other that is.

"Harry!" one of the sixth year girls yelled to him while handing him a folded letter. "I've got something for you. It's from Luna, not me. So don't get any ideas."

Once the girl had walked off Harry quickly read the letter aloud. It said for him to meet her outside the Great Hall before dinner. "What would Luna want with me?"

"I don't know, Harry but I'm sure you'll find out," Hermione told him. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Good night, Hermione," the two echoed after her. Once she was out of sight Harry turned to Ron.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Ron asked him.

"What was up with you back there?" Harry asked him again.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Ron said.

"That's bullocks and you know it," Harry told him. "Now what's up with you and Hermione?"

"Well, I…" Ron started. "Ilikehermione!"

"Once again. And slower this time."

"I like Hermione."

"Oh," Harry said. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'Is that all'? This is a BIG deal!"

"It is pretty obvious. I mean nearly the whole school knows that you like her, except Hermione that is. I'm really surprised she hasn't figured it out yet. Though that's probably because she likes you, too… At least I think she does."

"What!" Ron exclaimed. "The whole school knows! How come nobody… Wait a minute; Hermione likes me, too? Really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she does," Harry replied. "You should just ask her out already. I'm going to bed. Night, Ron."

"Night."

"You're not my father!" Faith screamed at the Dark Lord. "He was nothing like you, you bastard."

"Faith, Faith," Voldemort chastised. "What language! No daughter of mine would ever mouth off to her father like that. I believe it's time you learned some manners."

"You're not my father!" Faith screamed again. "You're nothing like him."

"Oh, but aren't I?" Voldemort asked her. "After all we did share everything: a mother and father, blood, bedrooms, even our faces are identical. Everything he had and owned was mine as well. Surely that includes you, Faithy?"

"Don't call me that!" Faith yelled at him. "Only my father called me that and you aren't him. You were never like him. He was always better than you at everything… Besides, from where I'm standing it seems like he had the better looks, Snakeface."

"Crucio!" Voldermort screamed out at the chained Faith and gleefully watched as she withered in pain, pulling against her restraints. "Don't you ever speak to me like that again or maybe I'll let my Death Eaters have some fun with you."

With that Voldermort briskly walked out of the room and left Faith alone with her thoughts and her pain.

The next morning in the Great Hall all of the students were wondering where most of the professors were. No one was really wondering where Professor Trelawney was because she hardly ever ate with the rest of the school. She usually just took her meals in her room. However the other professors almost always ate their meals in the Great Hall so having none of them there was quite unusual and a little alarming. This is what seems to be the topic of discussion… That and Professor Fox or whoever she really is. Well, it was the main topic for almost everyone.

"So," Harry said quietly to Hermione. "Did you activate the coi-coconut?"

"Last night," she responded in code. "The duck is ready to leave the pond."

"What's a duck got to do with a coconut?" Ron asked them.

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione whispered to him. "Can't you get anything right? We were speaking in code in case anyone might have been listening."

"Okay," he said slowly. "But what does a duck have to do with a coconut?"

"Ron!" Hermione quietly explained while rubbing her temples with her forefingers before continuing. "Harry asked if I set the coins to notify people for the meeting and I told him that I had and that everything was ready to go for tonight."

"Oh. Well why didn't you just say so?"

Before Hermione could retort to Ron's response Professor Dumbledore walked through the entrance of the Great Hall followed by the rest of the professors (minus Professor Trelawney), Alastor Moody, and Professor Fox who was dressed in…muggle clothing? Buffy currently had on white tennis shoes, faded low rise blue jeans, and a ribbed white turtle neck sweater with her hair down, flowing down her back in loose waves. Apparently the whole student body seemed to notice this along with the fact that she was not locked up or surrounded but a horde of Aurors with wands aimed in her direction

"Students," Professor Dumbledore said. "I would like your attention. I know many of you are wondering why is Professor Fox still here and who is she. First of all, Professor Fox is not here. In fact Professor Fox never really existed in the first place. I would tell you more but I'm afraid that I would rather you hear it from her mouth. Buffy, if you will?"

"Set them up and give them to me why don't ya?" Buffy mumbled to herself before she began her lecture in a very American accent, which everyone noticed. "Okay, well, from what DumbleDee said you already know that my name's Buffy Summers and yes that is my full name and if I hear anyone making fun of it I'll kick your ass all the way to the closest Hellmouth… Maybe that wasn't the best way to start this out. Okay, well, you don't know it but you already know a lot about what I do and me. You actually learned about me in your DADA classes."

Buffy paused for a minute, wondering if anyone really smart would figure it out. When all she received was blank and confused stares she continued on. "This would be so much easier if Giles were here. He loves doing this part… As I've told you the world didn't start out as a paradise. Well, it did, but for the demons that walked dominated the Earth. The side of good needed someone or something to fight, pushing the demons and evil back. So a group of three wise men put the essence and power of a demon into the body of a young girl, the Chosen One. Into each generation the Chosen One is called. She alone will have the power and skills to fight back the evil and forces of darkness. She is The Slayer… And she is me."

**T.B.C.**


	8. Chapter 43

**Authors Note: **For anyone new to this story, a wonderful writer originally wrote chapters 1-36 by the name Malli. Sadly she died, but there are a few continuations of her story out there. This is one of them. The other continuations can be found at the address below (just without the spaces).

http:crystal cheyenne. brave journal. com/ entry/ 6436

**A/N 2:** I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. So thank you to Just Me (thanx), Kastia (thanx), goddessa39 (she's not his daughter. I thought I made it obvious but evidently not. Her father is/was Voldy's twin brother. I hope that clears it up), slaygal166 (thanx), CharmingStar (thanx and good luck), Anne (glad youre enjoying it), saarkneyfan2 (what a charmer), and Charmed-angel4 (I loved your review. It made my day. Heck, it made my week! Here's your update, enjoy). I hope you guys update again. It always cheers me up. Thanx also to Chris, my beta: You're the best! Also, I've used a Tara-quote in here but the person saying it is not Tara. All will be revealed in time, don't worry.

**A/N 3:** For all of you who read my fic "Hidden Agendas", I'm sorry to say but it's on hold indefinitely for the time being. Before I started typing it up I had about the first 10-15 chapters outlined from a while ago. Now I can't seem to find where that notebook is with all my notes in it and I don't remember what I was gonna do. So until I find it, remember, or come up with a new story line to continue it, it won't be updated. Sorry.

**A/N 4:** I am adding a trivia section at the end of each chapter from now on. At the end of the fic, whoever has the most points from answering the most correct questions, will receive a worlds supply of chocolate bunny ears. I would've included the bodies too but when Anya saw them she went a little crazy and hacked them up. From now on, every Easter, we're gonna make sure she is given many sleeping pills. She really scared all of the lil' kiddies.

**A/N 5:** Everyone who reviews, that isn't a flame, will receive one point and every correct trivia question answer will receive two points each unless otherwise stated. Enjoy and happy competiting. I wish you all many monsters in your travels through the Hellmouth. Good Luck!

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

_"I think it's time to call a meeting," Harry told Hermione and Ron quietly as they sat in their common room, careful not to let anyone else hear him. "We need to call another meeting and soon. I don't know who Professor Fox really is or what shes up to and I don't want to take any chances."_

_"Harry!" One of the sixth year girls yelled to him while handing him a folded letter. "I've got something for you. It's from Luna, not me. So don't get any ideas."_

_Once the girl had walked off Harry quickly read the letter aloud. It said for him to meet her outside the Great Hall before dinner. "What would Luna want with me?"_

"_Well, I," Ron started. "Ilikehermione!"_

"_That's bollocks and you know it," Harry told him. "Now what's up with you and Hermione?"_

"_Once again. And slower this time."_

"_I like Hermione."_

"_You're not my father!" Faith screamed again. "You're nothing like him."_

"_Oh, but aren't I?" Voldemort asked her. "After all we did share everything: a mother and father, blood, bedrooms, even our faces are identical. Everything he had and owned was mine as well. Surely that includes you, Faithy?" _

_Buffy paused for a minute, wondering if anyone really smart would figure it out. When all she received was blank and confused stares she continued on. "This would be so much easier if Giles were here. He loves doing this part. As I've told you the world didn't start out as a paradise. Well, it did, but for the demons that walked dominated the Earth. The side of good needed someone or something to fight, pushing the demons and evil back. So a group of three wise men put the essence and power of a demon into the body of a young girl, the Chosen One. Into each generation the Chosen One is called. She alone will have the power and skills to fight back the evil and forces of darkness. She is The Slayer. And she is me."_

**Chapter 43**

_Deep throughout the castle chills ran down Sirius back and a cold wind blew through his every fiber of being. Hogwarts was eerily silent for some apparent reason that was not apparent to him. Even though it was very early in the morning, just a little bit after midnight, the presence of the students and teachers in their rooms could be felt. The castle always had some fraction of happiness no matter where a person went in it; even in Severus dungeons it could be felt somewhat. But not now. Sirius didn'tt even see any of the house ghosts or Peeves as he made his way through the forlorn and vacant halls. But what made Sirius even more apprehensive were the paintings that adorned every wall. The paintings were still there but their occupants, however, were not. Sometimes the occupants would move from painting to painting, but at least they would still be in a painting. In these paintings, however, there was no one. Not a soul stirred in or out of the paintings. The atmosphere was one of great foreboding and immense bereavement. In whole, the grounds reminded Sirius of his time in Azkaban. _

_Sirius continued to walk and explore the castle grounds for any sign of life, any sign of happiness. As Sirius walked he noticed many corridors that weren'tt there before. In fact, he was positive they were never in the castle before, for he and his friends had discovered most of the secret passages in their time at Hogwarts. When he came upon one dark passage curiosity got the better of him and he started down its length, wondering where it led. There were paintings, statues, and carvings Sirius had never seen before in his life. Some of the artwork Sirius was glad he had never seen before and wished he hadn't now, for those images were sure to haunt him at every moment. He wasn't sure if he could ever get those vulgar images out of his head. _

_Soon enough Sirius came to a point where the corridor forked into two different directions, one right and one left. Sirius was about to take the slightly lit one when he thought he heard someone calling his name. He stopped for a moment and listened carefully to see if he could figure out where it was coming from. After a few minutes he heard it again and determined that the voice was coming from the other, murky corridor. Concluding that he could take care of himself if it came down to it, he started slowly walking down corridor number two. _

_Whenever it seemed that he was getting close to the whispering speaker the voice seemed to move further and further away. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sirius came to a light at the end of the hallway. The light was not from a candle or torch; it was from the glow of a slightly hidden moon. The corridor had led him outside. Sirius followed the voice into the Forbidden Forest and hoped he didn't come across any of the larger evils while in there. _

_After what seemed like an endless amount of walking, the voice became closer and louder until it faded away all together. The voice had led him to a clearing deep in the forest where the moon shone brightly. Under a beam laid a small, still object. Sirius walked closer in order to see what the mysterious object was. The object was stone with writing on it, a head stone to be correct. Sirius brushed the fallen debris away with his hand so he could read what was written. Tears started cascading silently down his cheeks as he read the engraved inscription:_

_Elizabeth Anne Potter_

_1981-1986_

_A light in all hearts she met_

_She will be missed_

_This was her grave, Buffy's grave. If he was seeing her grave then how could he have seen her in his dreams, very much alive? Unless… unless that's all that they were: dreams. Sirius wanted so desperately for Buffy to be alive but evidently that wasn't the case. He just wished he knew why he had those dreams in the first place. Nothing made sense to him anymore. But then again, nothing did after she died._

_Sirius was lost in his grieving until that same voice called out to him and spoke again, this time from behind him. Sirius turned and saw a young woman with strawberry blonde hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. She stood not ten feet from where he was kneeled._

_"Who are you?" Sirius asked her. "What do you want?"_

_"You think you know who you are, what's to come." the woman replied. "You haven't even begun." _

Sirius woke up suddenly in a cold sweat with the remains of dried tears on his cheeks. Once Sirius seemed to have caught his breath he uttered one sentence to the empty room: "What the fuck!"

Meanwhile, in another part of England a lone dark haired figure laid bundled in the middle of a small, cold, stone floor. The body shivered from both the pain and the coldness of the murky room. The body, absent of clothing, was obviously female in nature with long dark hair and a tribal band tattooed around her upper right arm. Usually that-and maybe a hickey or two-was all that adorned her lightly tanned skin. Now, however, her beautiful skin was adorned with both fading and fresh cuts and bruises. She was marred with cuts, large and small, from her head to her toe. The woman, commonly known as Faith, was lying in a pool of her own blood. If she hadn't been a slayer she probably wouldn't be alive. Even now it was amazing that she still was, alive that is. The thing is, Faith didn't know whether to be thankful for that fact or scared to death. She just hope B and the gang would hurry up and save her before it was too late to be saved.

In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry, gasps and frantic whispers could be heard throughout. Since there was so much whispering everyone may as well have been shouting. Or at least to Buffy they may as well have been shouting. With her enhanced senses, both from being the Slayer and being in Heaven, all the whispering was starting to give her a headache. Without realizing it both of her hands had gone to cover her ears, attempting to block out the incessant noise.

Seeing this, Professor Dumbledore hastily quieted everyone down. Buffy removed her hands from her ears and gave the headmaster a thankful smile. Dumbledore in return returned the favor.

"Now," Dumbledore said to everyone, "if you have a question you would like answered, please raise your hand in the air and you will be called on shortly. Those of you who wish not to obey this rule will be escorted from the Great Hall until further notice. Do I make myself clear?"

All the students nodded their heads as hundreds of hands quickly shot in the air. Buffy gulped, glared at Dumbledore as he smirked at her, and randomly pointed to a student at the Ravenclaw table.

"How long have you been the slayer?" The student asked.

"For about eight years now, on and off," Buffy answered and pointed to another student, this one at the Hufflepuff table.

"What do you mean on and off?"

"Well, I died. Twice, actually. It's really not that big of a deal. For some reason I cant seem to stay dead," she answered while pointing to another student after another.

"So you what," a cocky voice asked, "Fell down the stairs or something?"

"No, Dragon-breath," Buffy replied. "The first time I died in a prophecy against a vampire known as the Master. The second time I died was to save your sorry ass. But then again if you hadn't gotten yourself kicked out of my class you would've known that already… Next?"

"What was the prophecy?" Harry asked her.

"The prophecy stated that the Master would kill me and walk the Earth. It said that once he killed me, blood would run through the streets like rivers and the vampires would once again rule the Earth."

"But the world's not like that," Hermione said. "So obviously that wasn't a true prophecy."

"Oh, but it was," Buffy told her. "You see, prophecies are tricky things. You never really know what one means until after it has already happened. The prophecy said that the Master would kill me, and he did. What the prophecy didn't say was that it was my blood that would allow the Master to be freed to walk the Earth. The part about the Master walking the Earth was only _if_ he was allowed to walk it. My friends found me and revived me using CPR. I came back and killed the Master before anything else happened. So you see, prophecies only tell you one way something can work out. There is always room for improvement and change. They are never actually set in stone."

Buffy noticed that Harry seemed very relieved to hear what she had to say about Prophecies. It made her wonder what that was all about. She was about to point to another student when the double doors burst wide open. Buffy quickly went into a fighting stance, ready for what ever was going to come through the doors.

Instead of demons, vampires, or Death Eaters, a horde of people came into the Great Hall. A horde of people that Buffy knew.

"Buffy," the red head said. "We were attacked by a bunch of demons and Death Eaters and they took Faith. I did a quick scrying spell and found where they're holding her but there are too many of them. You need to come and we have to hurry. Come on."

Before another word could be said Buffy was through the doors, along with the group of strange people, leaving a stunned and confused gathering of staff and students behind.

T.B.C.

**Next Chapter:** What was up with Sirius' dream and who was the strange woman in it? What did she mean? Will Buffy and the gang get to Faith in time, or will they be too late? And just what does Luna want with Harry? Tune in next time to chapter 44 of Phoenix Child to find out. Dum dum dummmmmmmmm…

**Trivia Questions:**

**1) **The Hebrons Binding spell is a protection spell used to bind a demon. In what episode did Willow use it? Hint: it was in the third season

**2) **In "Hell's Bells" while practicing her wedding vows, what does Tara tell Anya she shouldn't say (in her vows)?

**3) **Who says the below quote and in what episode is it said? "Oh, poor Watcher. Did your life pass before your eyes? Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got shagged, cuppa tea?" Worth four points if correct

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	9. Chapter 44

**Author's Note:** The answers for the previous set of trivia questions are:

**1)** "The Zeppo"

**2)** Sex poodle

**3)** Spike; "Bargaining"

**A/N 2:** I would like to thank Kastia (sorry, it's gonna be H/L. I hope you still read it tho), Anne (I agree), General Mac (don't worry, I will), Slays (aww…thanx! You made my day), Tilly (thanx), Just Me (thanx for your uplifting comments), Chrios (I already sent you my note and you got an extra point for being my beta), heather (thanx), Vld (I said in my notes that it is not Tara, but it's not D. or C. either. Good guess tho), Anna (I said it wasn't Tara and thanx for reviewing), mysticallove (cool name. Thanx and you got a point for the Angelus comment), Tiger Tiger02 (thanx), and Liza Girl (wow! 2 out of 3 correct, and the two hardest ones, too. Good job!) for reviewing. You guys ROCK! Keep it up.

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

Sirius was lost in his grieving until that same voice that called him out there spoke again, this time from behind him. Sirius turned and saw a young woman with strawberry blonde hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. She stood not ten feet from where he was kneeled.

"Who are you?" Sirius asked her. "What do you want?"

"You think you know who you are, what's to come…" the woman replied. "You haven't even begun."

_The woman, commonly known as Faith, was lying in a pool of her own blood. If she hadn't been a slayer she probably wouldn't be alive. Even now it was amazing that she still was, alive that is. The thing is, Faith didn't know whether to be thankful of that fact or scared to death. She just hope B and the gang would hurry up and save her before it was too late to be saved._

Instead of demons, vampires, or Death Eaters, a horde of people came into the Great Hall. A horde of people the Buffy knew.

"Buffy," the red head said. "We were attacked by a bunch of demons and Death Eaters and they took Faith. I did a quick scrying spell and found where they're holding her but there are too many of them. You need to come and we have to hurry. Come on."

_Before another word could be said Buffy was out of the doors along the rest of the strange people, leaving a stunned and confused gathering of staff and students behind._

Chapter 44 

Once Buffy and the strange group of people left the Great Hall all the occupants of students and staff had nothing to do but to stare after them. The hall was completely silent except for the sounds of breathing and the slight swinging of the two double doors leading to the remainder of the castle. Everyone was so shocked they didn't know what to say. First their DADA professor was arrested by the Ministry of Magic, then they found out that Professor Sarah Fox was actually known by Buffy Summers and was the longest lived Slayer in all of history, and now said Slayer and DADA professor had just ran from the Great Hall with a group of people no one in the room had ever seen before. Everyone just sat there, with their mouths hanging open until the wisest of them all spoke:

"What the _bloody hell_ was that!" Ron exclaimed…but then again Ron isn't the wisest of them all. Some students and faculty might consider him a wise _ass_, but not the wisest.

"Mr. Weasley!" Professor McGonagall yelled while shooting out of her chair, astounded at the exclamation from one of the students...hers, no less. "If you do not desist this moment you will have detention for a week!"

"Now, now," Professor Dumbledore intervened, much to the relief of both Ron _and_ Hermione for some strange reason. "It is obvious that no one will be finding out more about the incident that just transpired so I suggest that you all report to your common rooms until further notice. Normally I would say to go to your classes but I honestly do not believe that anything constructive will get done, so you may take your leave now."

Once the students and some of the professors had all evacuated the Great Hall, Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.

"Minnie," Dumbledore addresses Professor McGonagall first, "Please contact Sirius and Remus and have them come to my office immediately. Severus, the rest of the order should be cleaning up the mess at the manor. Please contact them and have them come immediately as well. I will meet you in my office in ten minutes. I do not like not knowing what is going on in my castle but I intend to find out."

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room nothing but whispers could be heard. And of course all whispers were, in one way or another, about Buffy Summers. There was so much talking going on that the light brigade couldn't even hear themselves think, much less each other talking. Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally found a quieter spot by the north windows, near the boys' dormitory.

"Is the duck still on for tonight or is the coconut not leaving the pond?" Ron asked his two friends.

"Ron," Harry asked. "What are you talking about? You know Hogwarts doesn't serve duck for dinner."

"Yes, Ron," Hermione agreed with Harry. "Besides, why would a coconut be in a pond?"

"No!" Ron quietly exclaimed, turning to Hermione. "You remember, it's what you were explaining to me before Professor Fo-Buffy Summers came into the Great Hall. You do remember, don't you? What with all the coins and the DA meeting and all."

At Ron's clarification of his earlier statement Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. They were laughing so hard that their sides hurt. Harry almost fell out of his seat on the windowsill, he was laughing so hard.

"Ron," Hermione addressed him once she had calmed down, "It was the duck leaving the pond, not the coconut. The coconut was code for the coin."

"Isn't that what I said?" Ron asked.

"Of course, Ron," Harry said. "Whatever you say. Just do us a favor?"

"What?"

"Don't talk in code anymore."

"Why?"

"It's just… never mind," Harry told him, changing the subject. "So, what do you think is going on with Prof-Buffy? Didn't that red-haired woman say something about a Death Eater attack and someone being kidnapped?"

"I don't know," Hermione answered.

Right after Hermione spoke Ron started furiously digging through his pockets.

"Ron," Hermione inquired. "What in Godric's name are you doing?"

"Looking for a quill."

"Whatever for?"

"So I can write this down before I forget," Ron answered.

"Write what down?" Harry asked his friend.

"Today's date," came another of Ron's short answer responses, which were quickly getting on the others nerves.

"What's so important about today's date?" Harry inquired, now a little more worried than curious.

"Because today is the day that Hermione didn't know something," he answered cheerfully. "Yes!" Ron exclaimed in joy when he pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from his cloak pockets.

Hermione humphed, grabbed the parchment and quill from the redhead, and promptly hit him over the head with the objects.

"Ow!" Ron yelled loudly, calling attention to him. "Mione, What was that for?"

"If you have to ask then I'm not going to tell you," Hermione said to him before walking off into the girls' dormitory.

"Ron," Harry said.

"What?" Ron asked.

"When Hermione comes down…"

"Yeah?"

"Apologize."

In Dumbledore's office things were going more smoothly than they did with the light brigade (a.k.a. Ron, Hermione, and Harry). Unfortunately, things weren't going that much smoother. The only way that it could be considered smoother would be if one considered Sirius and Severus not killing each other as smoother.

"You bloody ponce! This is all your fault!"

"_My_ fault! This is entirely your fault, you wanker! If you hadn't-"

"This is not MY bloody fault, you poofter!"

"I'm not a poof! If anyone's a poof here it's you!"

"That's rich, since the only female contact you ever get has been in your dreams!"

"Well at least they touch me in my dreams unlike you, you grease-ball!"

"Shove it up your arse, dog-breath!"

"Or what, you'll make me, you giant bat?"

"Go hump someone elses leg for a change, Fido!"

"That's enough!" Professor Dumbledore yelled at the two quarreling wizards. "If you two do not stop this instant, I do not care how old either of you are, you will both be scrubbing this castle from top to bottom with nothing but your tooth brushes. Is that clear?" Once Dumbledore was sure that Sirius and Snape weren't going to continue he began. "As you all know, as headmaster of Hogwarts, I make it my job, as all other headmasters before me, to know everything going on in this school and on the grounds surrounding it. Unfortunately, as of late, I have not had this pleasure. With Miss Summers' involvement this year I haven't known much of anything that has gone on here since term began. It seems that Miss Summers is quite the force to be reckoned with. Not only is she the longest lived, and most powerful slayer in history, but she is also the first slayer in all of history to be a witch as well."

"Are you saying you believe her, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"That is exactly what I am saying, Minerva," Dumbledore answered her. "And in order to win this war I believe we must have her fighting on our side."

"Do you believe she is not on our side?" Remus asked him. "I mean after all she is the Slayer."

"I believe that Miss Summers is on our side," Dumbledore answered the werewolf. "But it is not unknown for a slayer to switch sides; it has happened before and is nothing that says thatit can't happen again."

"But the Slayer fights for the side of good," Tonks told him. "Wouldn't that mean that the Slayer is good and not evil?"

"Not necessarily," Dumbledore informed her and everyone else. "The essence that makes a girl, or woman in our case, the Slayer, is pure evil. It is a demon essence that was first placed in a young girl that gave her the strength and the skill to fight the forces of evil. The Slayer walks the line of good and evil every night and slayers in the past have been known to fall off that line. And with the added power of being a witch, and an extremely powerful one at that… I just don't know."

"Then how can we tell if she will stay on our side through this war?" One of the Order members asked.

"With time," Dumbledore answered them. "Time is the only thing that will tell and it is also the only thing that we may not have enough of."

Before another word could be said the door to Dumbledore's office opened and in walked a woman no one except for Dumbledore himself had ever seen before. The woman had strawberry blonde hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. She was extremely beautiful.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," the mystery woman said to Dumbledore. "There was horrible traffic."

"It's quite alright, my dear," Dumbledore told her. "I'm just glad you made it here safe."

The woman looked like she was going to reply but she was interrupted by a surprised yell from the other side of the room.

"You!" Sirius cried out, pointing at her. "You were in my dream."

In another, colder part of England, a group a people were following what looked like to be a blue firefly.

"Uh, Willow?" Xander asked the redheaded witch. "Are you sure Tinkerbell knows the was to where Faith is locked up?"

"Xander," Willow said, irritated. "For the last time this is not Tinkerbell, it is a conjuring orb used in certain locator spells and incantations. Tinkerbell is a made-up character in _Peter Pan_."

"But is it working?" Xander asked her. "'Cause this tree looks _really_ familiar. I'm thinkin' of naming it Bob… or maybe Fred. I'm not sure."

"Yeah, Will," Buffy said. "No offense to you or anything, but I know I've seen this tree before. Are you sure you did this spell right?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Willow told her. "The only time it didn't work properly was when…" Willow's eyes widened with clarity as the reason for the wonky spell hit her.

In fact, Buffy seemed to be thinking the same thing because her eyes lit up shortly after Willow's. "Of course! How could we have been so _stupid_!"

"Um, guys," Xander said. "I'm not getting' it. Anyone care to explain this to those who aren't, you know, you?"

"Oh, sorry Xander," Willow apologized to her best friend since, well ever. "Remember when I tried to find where Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were hiding?"

"Who?"

"Buffy's old friends?"

"Oh, yeah!" Xander exclaimed. "Okay, continue."

"Well, do you remember why the spell wouldn't work?"

"Because…because…" Xander stammered. "Don't tell me, I know this. Because…oh! The spell didn't work because they had some sort of spell that hid them. Am I right?"

"Yes, Xander," Willow congratulated him with two thumbs up. "But since this spell at least did something, Faith should be in this general area."

"So we know where Faith is?"

"Yes and no," Willow answered him. "She's in this area, I'm just not sure exactly where."

"And that's where I come in," Buffy announced. "Since she's my sister slayer and I'm the most connected to her, don't even say it Xander, then I should be able to find her from here using my slayer senses."

"So you're gonna sniff her out?" Xander asked.

"Slayer senses, Xander," Buffy said, "Not smelling senses. I'm going to hone her out. So that means I'm gonna need complete concentration. And Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"Shush."

The Scooby Gang continued walking through the woods for what seemed like hours. In actuality it was only twenty minutes tops. Finally they came to a clearing, and in the clearing, cloaked by powerful magics, stood a mansion created before the downfall of the Roman Empire. Hidden from muggles and wizards alike, this manor presented itself as the order of operations for the Dark Lord and his followers. Inside the grand institution, Death Eaters from all over the globe gathered. And in that very building was where Faith could be found.

Buffy and the gang, thanks to a silencing charm from Willow, had not been heard yet. Now if they could only get into the building, find Faith, and rescue her without being caught by a Death Eater… well, that would be a miracle all in it's own. Unfortunately this wasn't 34th street; it was a forest somewhere in England. Just as they were about to sneak into the mansion they were surrounded on all sided by Death Eaters.

Death Eaters were attacking from all sides and the Scooby Gang was counter-attacking with everything they had. Spells were being thrown and axes were being swung. So far no one had died… well, no one of importance anyway. After the battle had gone on for a while, Willow was able to distract some of the Death Eaters long enough for Buffy to sneak in and find Faith.

The inside of the building was not that much different than the outside. The only difference was that it wasn't raining inside, a fact that Buffy was grateful for as she rounded yet another corner. After a few minutes she was able to assess where Faith was being kept and she was thankful that there were no guards guarding her.

_Everyone must be fighting outside_, she thought to herself as she made her way to the stone door.

The door was locked, no shock there, but that didn't stop Buffy; she just carefully tore the door off it's hinges. When she went inside she was assaulted by the stench of human feces and lots of blood. And in the pool of blood lay Faith, completely naked and covered with cuts and bruises. The sight made Buffy want to throw up.

"Oh, God," Buffy muttered, with a hand to her mouth. "What have they done to you Faith?"

Just as Buffy picked Faith up in her arms and planned to leave the cold, bloodied room, a malicious voice stopped her in her tracks.

"One more move and you're both dead," a Death Eater told them.

Buffy didn't know what to do. If she moved to escape then her and Faith were both dead. But if she stayed then it would probably be better if they were dead. At least they wouldn't have to feel the pain of torture. Buffy didn't know what the survival rate was for either option but she knew that neither one was good. Just as she was about to take a chance and run for it someone took the Death Eater out from behind, saving her and Faith.

Buffy expected to see the face of Willow, Xander, or another member of the gang. What she saw was someone she never expected to see ever again. With his bleach blonde hair and leather duster, she would know him anywhere.

"Spike?" Buffy croaked out.

"No time for questions, Luv," Spike told her, reaching out his hand. "We've got to go."

T.B.C.

**In the Next & Upcoming Chapter(s):** Will you finally find out what Luna wants with Harry? Will Ron get the guts to ask Hermione out? Will Angelus, decked out in leather pants, make an appearance? Just who really is this mystery woman from Sirius' dream? Will Buffy get back together with Sirius…or will she get back together with Spike? And what the hell is Spike doing here in the first place? All this and much more to be explained in future chapters. I guess you'll just have to read on to find out. Happy reading!

**Trivia Questions:**

**1)** Who says the below quote and when? "It's a big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big." Worth 4 points

**2) **What disclaimer does Willow give to Riley in "The Initiative"?

**3) **What type of spell does Giles attempt to perform on Spike in "Something Blue"?


	10. Chapter 45

**Author's Note 1:** Sorry about the delay, but I've been really busy with graduating and with work. Hopefully the next update won't be as long. Thank you to my lovely beta, Chirs. And thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are the best. Please keep it up. And Chiki-B, your reviews made my day. They really perked me up.

**A/N 2:** I'd like to have a poll. It's just a simple yes or no answer. I just want to know if you guys want Buffy and Spike to get back together. At this point I could go either way. Just let me know one way or the other. If I don't have them together then I already know what will happen with Buffy.

**A/N 3:** The answers to the previous trivia questions are: 1) Spike in "Becoming: Pt 1", 2) that if he hurts Buffy then she will beat him to death with a shovel, & 3) a truth spell.

**Previously on Phoenix Child:**

_Once Dumbledore was sure that Sirius and Snape weren't going to continue he began. "As you all know, as headmaster of Hogwarts, I make it my job, as all other headmasters before me, to know everything going on in this school and on the grounds surrounding it. Unfortunately, as of late, I have not had this pleasure. With Miss Summers' involvement this year I haven't known much of anything that has gone on here since term began. It seems that Miss Summers is quite the force to be reckoned with. Not only is she the longest lived, and most powerful slayer in history, but she is also the first slayer in all of history to be a witch as well."_

"_But the Slayer fights for the side of good," Tonks told him. "Wouldn't that mean that the Slayer is good and not evil?""Not necessarily," Dumbledore informed her and everyone else. "The essence that makes a girl, or woman in our case, the Slayer, is pure evil. It is a demon essence that was first placed in a young girl that gave her the strength and the skill to fight the forces of evil. The Slayer walks the line of good and evil every night and slayers in the past have been known to fall off that line. And with the added power of being a witch, and an extremely powerful one at that… I just don't know."_

_Before another word could be said the door to Dumbledore's office opened and in walked a woman no one except for Dumbledore himself had ever seen before. The woman had strawberry blonde hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. She was extremely beautiful._

"_You!" Sirius cried out, pointing at her. "You were in my dream."_

_Buffy didn't know what to do. If she moved to escape then her and Faith were both dead. But if she stayed then it would probably be better if they were dead. At least they wouldn't have to feel the pain of torture. Buffy didn't know what the survival rate was for either option but she knew that neither one was good. Just as she was about to take a chance and run for it someone took the Death Eater out from behind, saving her and Faith.Buffy expected to see the face of Willow, Xander, or another member of the gang. What she saw was someone she never expected to see ever again. With his bleach blonde hair and __leather duster__, she would know him anywhere."Spike?" Buffy croaked out."No time for questions, Luv," Spike told her, reaching out his hand. "We've got to go."_

**Chapter 45**

"You were in my dream!" Sirius shouted from the other side of the room,

pointing at the strange woman.

The entire room full of occupants was quiet as they all turned to stare

between the young woman and Sirius. After a moment the silence was

broken by no other than the woman on the receiving end of Sirius' finger.

"Well, that's the first," the woman said. "Usually I get much better

pick up lines. I mean come on, 'You were in my dream'? You've got to do

better than that if you ever want to get a date. I'm sure Batman over

there can do much better."

"Batman?" someone asked, severely confused.

"Tall, dark, and greasy over there," she said, pointing at the potions

professor. "He sure looks like an over grown bat."

At this comment, Sirius found it extremely hard not to laugh out right.

He tried to mask his laugh with a cough but he was very unsuccessful.

The glare from Snape only made Sirius laugh even harder. And once again

all the attention was back on Sirius. When Sirius noticed this he began

to muffle his laughter.

"Sorry," he said, looking away from Professor Dumbledore as he cleared

his throat.

"Before we were interrupted," Dumbledore said, looking over in Sirius'

direction, "I was about to introduce you to my niece, Galiana(lol.

Spellcheck just told me that galleon is a word. I guess harry potter has

a bigger influence on life than I thought) Sayani."

"Hello, everyone," the no longer mysterious woman said before turning

to Sirius, who had been staring at her since she walked in. "Do you have

a staring problem or something? You're seriously creeping me out."

This time Snape had a hard time not laughing out loud. Fortunately for

him, he was much better at coughing then Sirius was. A fact that Sirius

hated. And unfortunately for Snape, his "coughing" attracted the

attention of one Galiana Sayani.

"This is such a large castle," Galiana said. "I'm sure I'll be getting

lost for at least a month. I wanted to find someone to show me around

tonight, and I believe you're just the person."

At that moment Snape did something he never did before: he stuttered.

"W-what? I... I... don't think..."

"It's too soon isn't it?" Galiana asked Snape without really expecting

an answer from the potions professor. "You're right. We're rushing into

this. It's just too soon."

"I-I... that's not w-what..."

"You're right, it is too soon," Galiana said to Snape. "How is tomorrow

morning for you? Pick me up at eight."

With one last glance at Snape and a short wave to her uncle, Galiana

left the room to go in search of her own. And once again the room was

silenced.

In another part of the castle Harry was pacing back and forth... Back

and forth and back and forth. The portraits residing on the walls all

wondered whether or not it was actually possible to wear holes into the

ground. If it was possible, then they all had their money on Potter

being the first person to do it. After all, it wasn't everyday the son of

James Potter was out of the common room after hours and wasn't getting

into trouble. If the Marauders could see him now they would be highly

disappointed.

Harry looked at his watch again for the upteenth time that evening. The

glowing numbers read 8:13.

'Where is she?' Harry wondered to himself, finally changing the

direction of his pasing(passing or pacing?). Unfortunately for the floor, it

was still on the same path, only backwards. 'She's late. And she's the

one who made this meeting.'

Just as Harry was about to change directions again, Luna showed up,

completely out of breath.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she apologised, gasping for air. "I was reading

this fascinating article about Charred Horned Effenals when I noticed

the time. I got here as soon as I could. I hope you weren't waiting

long."

"No, not long," Harry told her, when in actuality he had been waiting

there for 24 minutes. Give or take a minute or two. Between his

direction pacings he may have lost count. He wasn't sure. "I just got here."

The two students just stood there in the hallway and staring at each

other in uncomfortable silence.

"So..." They both started at the same time which caused them to laugh.

At least the tension was broken a little. But only a little.

"You first," Luna said, even though she was the one who had asked Harry

to meet her there in the first place.

"No," Harry said. "You go first. I insist."

"Okay," she said, now more nervous then before. "Well, you know that

we're having a Hogsmeade weekend coming up and I was just wondering..."

"You were wondering what?"

"I was... I was just wondering if you would go with me?" When Harry

didn't respond she quickly continued. "If you don't want to go then I

understand. I'm different and not many people like me, I just thought you

were different and I just-"

"Yes," Harry said. "I'd like to go with you."

"-thought that maybe... Wait a minute," Luna said. "You'll go with me?

Because I'd understand if you didn't-"

"Luna!" Harry called, stopping her worried babble. "I want to go with

you."

He blushed a little. So did she.

"Oh," Luna said. "I just... I'll see you then, right?"

"I'll meet you at 4:30 on Saturday outside the Great Hall," Harry said.

"Okay. Then bye," Luna said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek

before running off in the opposite direction.

"Bye," Harry said, smiling and touching his cheek where Luna had kissed

him only seconds before.

T.B.C.

**A/N:** I know this chapter is short, but I figured you guys would like to read something rather than nothing at all.Work is really chaotic right now so I don't know when I'll be able to write more. This is why this post is so short. Just bear with me right now. I will finish this story. So don't worry.

**Trivia Questions:**

**1)** Who is the lead singer in Dingoes Ate My Baby?

**2)**What does Voldy's name mean?

**3)** 4 pts What is the name of James Marsters' band?


	11. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

Author's Note: I decided to myself at the beginning of

the week that I would update this story before I went

on Vacation. But then a couple of days ago I sprained

my finger pretty bad so now I'm pretty much typing

mostly with one hand which isn't that easy. But I

still decided I was gonna give you guys something

before I left, no matter how big or small. Right now

it's prolly gonna be the latter because my finger's

killing me. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy what

you have, 'cause that's all I have to give right now.

A/N 2: Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed and

for my lovely beta Chris, also known as Chriosbows. This

chapter is for you guys. 'Cause quite simply, you guys

rock!... Oh! And the decision for Buffy/Spike

is... well, I guess you'll just have to wait and

see. evil grin

A/N 3: And the answers to the last set of Trivia

Questions are... drum roll... more drum

roll...and more dr- just kidding...

1) Devon, 2) Flight of Death,

and 3) Ghost of the Robot. Though sadly

they're not together anymore. But on the bright side,

James is still singing and has a solo album out. Yay!

Previously on Phoenix Child:

_Buffy didn?t know what to do. If she moved to escape_

_then her and Faith were both dead. But if she stayed_

_then it would probably be better if they were dead. At_

_least they wouldn?t have to feel the pain of torture._

_Buffy didn?t know what the survival rate was for_

_either option but she knew that neither one was good._

_Just as she was about to take a chance and run for it_

_someone took the Death Eater out from behind, saving_

_her and Faith.Buffy expected to see the face of_

_Willow, Xander, or another member of the gang. What_

_she saw was someone she never expected to see ever_

_again. With his bleach blonde hair and leather duster,_

_she would know him anywhere.?Spike? Buffy croaked_

_out.?No time for questions, Luv? Spike told her,_

_reaching out his hand. ?We?ve got to go.?_

_"You're right, it is too soon," Galiana said to Snape._

_"How is tomorrow morning for you? Pick me up at_

_eight."_

_"Luna!" Harry called, stopping her worried babble. "I_

_want to go with you." _

_He blushed a little. So did she._

_"Oh," Luna said. "I just... I'll see you then, right?"_

_"I'll meet you at 4:30 on Saturday outside the Great_

_Hall," Harry said._

Chapter 46

Mouth agape and staring like a fish was the only thing

Buffy found she could do at a time like this. She was

ready to be killed for the third, and probably last

time, by a Death Eater when instead she found herself

and Faith being rescued by Spike. Normally, this

wouldn't have been a problem. The key word there being

"normally." Spike was supposed to be dead, not barking

out orders and saving people. And not dead as in the

undead dead, but dead as in

a-pile-of-ashes-at-the-bottom-of-the-now-closed-Sunnydale-Hellmouth

dead. But apparently nobody stayed dead anymore.

'It must be the new fad,' Buffy thought as soon as her

brain was able once again to form coherent sentences.

'And I wanted to be original.'

Unfortunately for Buffy, she wasn't able to think of

anything else as Spike grabbed both her and Faith and

rushed down the hall. Still not being fully pulled out

of her shock yet, Buffy's legs didn't hear her brain

shouting at them to run with Spike instead of just

standing there like Andrew out of a comic book store.

Spike was already nearly carrying Faith, but two fully

grown slayers, no matter how small they are, are not

easy to drag to safety when in a hurry and being

chased by who knows how many Death Eaters.

"Bloody hell, Slayer!" Spike shouted at her. "Yes, I'm

alive. But if we don't hurry, then none of us will be."

Buffy's legs finally got the hint and propelled

themselves along side Spike to the nearest, and

safest, exit. Right now really wasn't the time for

twenty questions. No matter how much Buffy wanted to

play that game at the moment, it was going to have to wait until later.

Right now they needed a way out of that building, and fast!

In the front of the building, the Scoobies weren't

faring as bad as Spike and the two senior slayers

were. But they weren't doing much better either. The

only reason the Scoobies weren't expecting their

immediate and cruel deaths was only because of Willow.

Since the Death Eaters were used to only fighting with

wands and always winning fairly quickly, they had no

idea what to do when their strongest opponent didn't

need to use a wand. It didn't help that

they had a shit load of pissed off slayers on their

hands as well. According to them and everything they

had ever learned, the Slayer was meant to be a myth,

not a reality. And the Slayer was only supposed to be

only one girl, not dozens. The fight was definitely

overflowing with girl power, and the Death Eaters

didn't like that one bit... Or maybe that was just

Xander. He really needed to get himself some male

friends and stat. Especially with the pink frilly

apron he had taken to wearing when in the kitchen. As

it was he was turning more into June Cleaver then

Ward. And that was one image he needed to get away

from.

(A/N: My finger's killin' me so I'm skippin' ahead.

Don't worry though, you will learn what happened

straight from the Scoobies mouths.)

A little over two hours later the original Scoobies

were gathered in the middle of Giles' living room, the

junior slayers safely away in their hotel rooms just

down the street. Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy were

all situated around the coffee table while Faith slept

upstairs. With Slayer healing, some magics from

Willow, and some healing potions Buffy had "borrowed"

from Hogwarts, Faith was going to be 90 better my

morning, if not even more so. Right now all she needed

was rest. None of the other Scoobies had seen Spike

though. Once he made sure Buffy and Faith were safe at

home he said something about not being able to stay,

and then he left.

"An... And then there was this big hiss-like yell

coming from somewhere inside the building, and then all

the D.E.s grabbed their arms in pain like they had all

gotten paged or something, only without pagers like the

Initiative guys had when we thought they were good and

all got paged at the same time by the big boss and

then the D.E.s just went poof, but not poof like a

vampire poof or poof like in a gay sort of way poof,

'cause that woulda been eww with them and everything,

but poof as in the not there anymore kinda way but not

not there anymore as in the whole Glory fiasco not

there anymore what with all the people in psych ward

but not there anymore as in... I'm babbling again,"

Willow pouted, turning her gaze to settle on Buffy.

"You're supposed to stop me when I do that."

"But it's so cute," Buffy retorted, as if speaking to

a small child. This only made Willow pout even more.

She was trying to seem normal but Willow saw right

through it.

"Alright," Willow said to her, putting on her resolve

face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wr-"

"Uh uh," Willow said, pointing at her face. "See this?

You know what it means. Now on with the explainy.

Pronto."

"Okay. It's just..." Buffy paused for a minute before

looking up from her hands folded on her lap and

continuing. "Spike's alive."

There was a moment of silence until the storm broke

all at once.

"What?"

"Huh? Spike's what?"

"Oh, dear Lord."

"Spike's back?" Willow asked after everyone had

stopped talking at once. And after Giles had finished

cleaning his glasses.

"Yes... and no," Buffy replied, not sure of what their

reactions would be.

"I don't understand," Willow asked. "How can Spike be

back but not?"

"Two very good questions," Giles muttered, snatching a

particular bottle of whiskey from behind one of the

bookshelves.

"Spike's alive," Buffy said again, as if that would

clear everything up.

"So dead boy junior's back," Xander said. "What's the

difference?"

"No," Buffy said exasperatingly. "Spike's alive. He's

alive."

For several moments not a word was said.

"Oh, dear Lord."

T.B.C.

A/N: No Trivia this time, only a question: How many of

you have read 'The Chosen'? If you haven't, then you

really should. It's phenomenal! It's as if Joss

himself were actually writing it.


	12. READ

Dear all fic readers,

I will not be updating for a while. I don't know for how long.

I just got back from my FL trip and I didn't get any good news when I returned. It was all bad and there was a lot of it. Right now I can't really remember most of what was said. I kind of numb right now.

I just found out my baby just died. She was a Russian Blue (kitty) and I've had and raised her since she was a little puff of fur. I loved her as if she were my real child.

Right now I can't really do much of anything. So... yeah.

I'll write again when I feel better. Whenever that is.

-Gylzgurl


	13. Chapter 47

Author's Note: First, I would like to thank all of you who reviewed and my beta Chrisgrins...i get honorable mention! for editing. I was reading over this story and was trying to decide how many more chapters there were going to be. I sat down to outline the last chapters and I found out that I don't have many chapters left to this story at all. That can be seen as both good and bad. Bad for those of you who enjoy reading this story, and good because this is already the 47th chapter. As it is, there are only a few chapters left to be told, including this one. So sit back, read, and enjoy. I have a two stories lined up to write after this one is finished. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which one I'll tackle first. They are listed below. I have more of the second one mapped out, but I want to see what you guys think. Let me know which one you would like to see first:

1) Buffy/Spike pairing. Non-crossover. Set both during both 6th and 3rd season of BtVS. When Buffy and Spike got together in S6 they mated/bonded and didn't hide it from everyone. They're relationship wasn't the violent relationship that Joss showed... it was only violent when they wanted it to be. but one night while patrolling, Buffy and Spike were thrust through a portal, only to find themselves in Sunnydale three years in the past. The question now is how do they return home without changing the future?

2) Buffy/Faith pairing. BtVS/HP crossover. Set during season 3 of BtVS and in an alt 7th year of HP. There is a prophecy against Voldemort involving twins. On the year the twins were foretold to be born, two sets were born instead of one. So instead of getting rid of one set of twins, Voldemort had one child of each set taken care of. 17 years later, both sets of twins are reunited and the prophecy begins to take action. It won't be long before Voldemort realizes this and tries to right his wrongs made 17 years ago.

A/N 2: I'd like you all to know that the battle I am speaking of in here is the war in the J.K. Rowling prophecy. It is entirely different because this universe is entirely different. And notice how I say battle, not war. I'l leave the actual war up to the all mighty J.K. Now on with the fic.

Previously on Phoenix Child:

"Spike's back?" Willow asked after everyone had stopped talking at once. And after Giles had finished cleaning his glasses.

"Yes... and no," Buffy replied, not sure of what their reactions would be.

"I don't understand," Willow asked. "How can Spike be back but not?"

"Two very good questions," Giles muttered, snatching a particular bottle of whiskey from behind one of the bookshelves.

"Spike's alive," Buffy said again, as if that would clear everything up.

"So dead boy junior's back," Xander said. "What's the difference?"

"No," Buffy said exasperatingly. "Spike's alive. He's alive."

For several moments not a word was said.

"Oh, dear Lord."

Chapter 47

Three weeks had gone by, and not much progress was made. The Scooby Gang and the Order had been researching non-stop, but to no avail. No one yet knew why and how Spike had become human again, no one knew just what Voldemort had up his sleeves, and Ron still hadn't asked out Hermione. The last one had nothing to do with the research party that had been non-stop for three weeks, but there was still no progress.

The Death Eaters and Voldemort had been constantly attacking Buffy and Faith. It could be said that he was attacking the slayers, but they were the only two who were being attacked by the likes of them. The rest of the slayers were practically ignored by His Uglyness and his followers. Harry hadn't gotten attacked as of yet, but his scar was hurting like hell and he had been having constant dreams about Voldemort and the upcoming war. Harry's dreams showed fragments here and there, but no solid scenes. From what Harry was able to piece together from his dreams, Voldemort was either going to give the wizarding world cake and sing karaoke, or he was raising a powerful army of demons. The Scooby Gang and the Order were researching and trying to figure out what demons were being brought together, but unfortunately Harry couldn't make out many clear descriptions from what he had seen. Or not seen in this case.

The only thing their combined organization had so far was that no Pagt'hcar and DuRounthian demons were involved. A handful of other demons were also scratched off the list, but that was only because they were either harmless, peaceful, or extinct. The only thing they could do right now was research, and lots of it. If only they could get more information out of Harry, then at least they wouldn't be trying to find a microscopic needle in all of Kansas.

"Harry," Dumbledore called his name. "Is there anything else you can remember about the demons that Voldemort is bringing together? Anything at all? It could be of great importance. Try to remember."

"I already told you," Harry told the headmaster. "They were a greyish-green color, skeletal, with black eyes, and looked about as big as Hagrid... Oh, and they kind of smelled like sulfur. Weird."

"That's almost as bad as Buffy's descriptions of demons." Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them... again. Then he added under his breath, "At least we can all be thankful he didn't use 'yuck' and 'gross' in describing them. Then it really would be the end of the world."

Unfortunately for Giles, Buffy heard better than most people. She was the Slayer after all.

"Hey!" Buffy shouted at her watcher, gaining everyone's attention. "I heard that."

"Well, you weren't meant to," Giles retorted.

"Um," Harry appeared confused, looking between the two. "Heard what? Am I missing something? I didn't hear anything."

"You wouldn't have," Xander said from his spot across the room, looking up from a large and dusty book. "She's got super hearing. Like Superman. It's all part of the slayer package. I'm still trying to figure out what she does with her cape."

"Cape?" Someone asked, equally confused, before turning to where Buffy sat. "You have a cape?"

"No, I don't have a cape," Buffy informed them, obviously irritated by Xander's comment as she turned to glare at him.

The room of mismatched people were quiet for a while after Buffy's death glare to her friend, but silence between this group of people was never meant to be. At least not for a prolonged period of time.

"You're right," Willow spoke up. "That's it."

"Excuse me?" Buffy turned to her. "I do not have a cape."

"No," Willow said. "Not the cape. Earlier. What Giles said."

"Okay," Buffy said. "Now I'm just taking offense."

"No, the first thing he said," Willow said, trying to clear the confusion up. "About what Harry said being like something you would say."

"Okay," Buffy drawled out. "And that's it how?"

"Well," Willow started to explain. "If anyone's going to find the demons Harry saw the V-guy bringing together then it's you. So start with the researching."

Buffy reached for a book and started casually flipping through the pages as if it were a children's book. She knew Willow's resolve face when she saw it and she knew it meant business. So for now she figured she'd humor her until someone found some useful information on the demons.

"Willow," Dumbledore said. "I don't think it will be that easy, as it is we hardly have any information on what to look for."

"I'm afraid he's right, Willow," Giles added. "That description can fit for many demons. And even if Buffy were to find it, there's no telling how long it could take."

Dumbledore looked like he was going to add on to what Giles had to say, but Buffy didn't seem to notice. She was too engrossed in her book.

"Found it," Buffy stated, holding the book up to Harry. "These your demons?"

"Um," Harry said, taking a good look at the picture. "Yeah. Wouldn't forget those faces anywhere."

"Cool," Buffy said, bookmarking the page. "Research is done. I say we party."

"How did you-" Dumbledore began.

"Buffy-" Giles began the same time as the headmaster.

Buffy effectively cut them both off.

"You're right," Buffy pouted. "Partying is for after the killing. Planning is before. So how do we kill these things? They're really gross looking and I never was a fan of lots of salt."

"What did the description say?" Giles asked his slayer. "There might be something in there to help us kill them."

"I don't know," Buffy said. "I didn't read it."

"Why didn't you? I know this isn't the first time you've helped research."

"The book's in some weird language," Buffy explained. "I can't make out a word of it."

"Then why were you looking at it?" Moody asked her, severely confused.

"There were lots of pictures," she told him.

"Oh," he said.

"Buffy," Giles said, getting back on topic. "May I see the passage on the demon."

"Yeah, sure," Buffy said, handing it to him. "Here it is."

"Thank you," Giles said, looking at the language.

"It appears to be some cousin of Sumarian," Giles informed everyone while taking out a pen and paper. "Give me a minute to translate this."

Everyone held they're breath while Giles wrote furiously while reading. Well, everyone except the Scooby Gang. They just chatted mindlessly among themselves. To them this was a natural occurrence. Finally, after what seemed like eternity for the Order and only a few minutes for the Scoobies, Giles stopped writing.

"Well, it was not a usual description," Giles said. "It's a prophecy."

"Damn it," Buffy groaned as the entire Scooby gang slumped in their chairs. "Not another one."

"Yes, well," Giles said. "That's besides the point right now. Here's what it says:

'Through seasons time and past,

The halfling shall come forth at last.

One warrior thrice times born,

Shall aid him of not yet scorned.

One the eve of 12 past 2,

The current laws will never do.

The lands of old will start to quake,

Leaving the Ooblungalds in it's wake.

One of light and dark will not fail,

And the side they fight will prevail."

Once again, all was silent as everyone took it all in. The problem was, hardly anyone knew what it was even about.

"So..." Xander began.

speak

"Yeah," Buffy finished. Willow just nodded her agreement.

The Order was completely lost.

"Mind explaining that to the rest of us who don't speak prophecy?" Galiana asked Giles.

Giles, of course, began to help. "It's fairly quite simple. It's just a puzzle really, a riddle. You just need to reword it. 'One warrior thrice times born' refers to Buffy."

"How do you figure?" Someone asked him.

"Because I've died," Buffy stated as if she were ordering a glass of ice water at a bar that served nothing but water.

"You died!" Remus was shocked as were most of the Order.

"Only twice," Buffy said. "It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal," Remus said.

"But two times, not three," another voice said.

"It's simple really," Giles started again. "She was born into this world and her soul was reborn into it after each time she... erm, died."

"And she is to help Harry in the war," Dumbledore added. "'Him of not yet scorned.' Voldemort has tried on several occasions to kill him but has never succeeded."

"Ooh!" Willow said. "And the quake must be an earthquake, which is right before those demons come out."

"And the 'one of light and dark' is..." Xander trailed off, realizing who it referred to. The rest of the Scooby Gang looked forlorn as well.

"What?" One of the aurors asked. "Who is it?"

"It's-" Xander started before Willow cut him off.

"It's me," she said with downcast eyes before turning to Giles. "That's too much pressure. You know I don't do well under pressure. I don't want to be the deciding factor."

"It's okay, Wills," Buffy said, putting an arm around her friend. "We'll all be there with you the entire time."

"Thanks," Willow told her. "Afterwards I want ice cream, and lots of it. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Wonderful," Snape barked at them. "Now can we get onto the matter at hand? We still don't know when this battle is going to take place."

"Actually, we do," Dumbledore spoke up. "'On the eve of 12 past 2' is..."

"Oh dear Lord," Giles said while cleaning his glasses once again. "That's..."

"Tomorrow night," Remus finished for him.

T.B.C.


	14. Chapter 48

Previously on Phoenix Child:

Three weeks had gone by, and not much progress was made. The Scooby Gang and the Order had been researching nonstop, but to no avail. No one yet knew why and how Spike had become human again, no one knew just what Voldemort had up his sleeves, and Ron still hadn't asked out Hermione. The last one had nothing to do with the research party that had been nonstop for three weeks, but there was still no progress.

Giles started again. "She was born into this world and her soul was reborn into it after each time she...erm, died."

"And she is to help Harry in the war," Dumbledore added. "'Him of not yet scorned.' Voldemort has tried on several occasions to kill him but has never succeeded."

"Ooh!" Willow said. "And the quake must be an earthquake, which is right before those demons come out."

"And the 'one of light and dark' is..." Xander trailed off, realizing who it referred to. The rest of the Scooby Gang looked forlorn as well.

"What?" One of the aurors asked. "Who is it?"

"It's-" Xander started before Willow cut him off.

"It's me," she said with downcast eyes before turning to Giles.

Dumbledore spoke up. "'On the eve of 12 past 2' is..."

"Oh dear Lord," Giles said while cleaning his glasses once again. "That's..."

"Tomorrow night," Remus finished for him.

Chapter 48

While the adults and everyone were busy trying to comprehend what they had just unraveled about the upcoming battle, Harry quietly snuck out of Dumbledore's office and out of Hogwarts. Harry didn't know where he was going, he only knew that he had to get out of that room and away from all those people. He just needed to be alone right now.

Once Harry stopped walking he found himself near the Forbidden Forest, in front of the lake that was home to the giant squid. Harry found a spot on the grass and sat down, lost in his thoughts and feelings. To say that Harry was scared to death about the battle to come was an understatement. Right now he had so many emotions running through him that he couldn't pick out just one. But one thing he was feeling in great quantities was numbness.

Harry kept thinking about his battles with Voldemort in the past five years. He kept thinking about how he never got to know his parents; the times he spent with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione; and how after tomorrow night he may never see either of them ever

again. Harry thought of all the people who had been hurt or worse because of him. People were always getting injured or killed because of him. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Arthur Weasley, Dudley, his Aunt Marge, Cho, Cedric, Sirius, his parents... The list went on, and as it went on the more forlorn Harry became.

'It's all my fault,' Harry thought to himself. 'If I wasn't here then none of this would have ever

happened. No one would have been hurt and Mom, Dad, and Cedric would still be alive... It's all my fault. Everyone would be better off without me.'

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he never realized it when someone came out of the castle and down sat next to him.

"Don't ever think that," the person told him.

Harry whipped his head around and jerked, startled out of his wits.

"How did you-" Harry started, wondering if he spoke out loud. He was sure he had thought it all to himself.

"I can't hear thoughts if that's what you're thinking," the person said. "At least not anymore."

"Professor, how did you know what I was thinking?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you're going through right now," the person said. "And Harry, out of class call me Buffy. I'm not your professor at the moment. Besides, I know what you're feeling."

"No you don't," Harry nearly shouted at her as his attitude turned from confusion to anger. "No one knows what I'm going through and what I'm feeling! No one else has had Voldemort after him since he was a baby. No one else has to be the one to kill him. No one can

possibly know what I'm going through, especially you. You haven't even been in the Wizarding world before so don't try to act like you know everything and try to be my best friend, alright? You don't know!"

Buffy just looked at him for a moment and Harry would see the pain in her eyes. He had never seen eyes with so much pain in them before. Not even Sirius', and he had suffered in Azkaban for over a decade. But there was also something else in her eyes that Harry could

not pin down. It was a sense of familiarity, but it couldn't be. It was impossible, yet they were just the same as his own.

"Harry," Buffy began. "I know what you're feeling and going through because I've been through it too. Not everything is the same as what has happened to you, but some of it is. And the parts that aren't are close to it."

This just confused Harry once again, but at least his anger had subsided a little. For now, anyway.

"I wasn't as young as you when you first found out about your destiny. I was 15 and as normal and muggle as can be.

"One day a man approached me and told me that it was my destiny to fight and destroy the forces of darkness; to slay the vampires and demons. That man was a Watcher sent to train me. I thought he was crazy. But what he showed me that night changed everything. That

night I saw and killed my first vampire. He didn't even help. He just stood at the sidelines and watched.

"I was never so scared in my life. Everything in my nightmares were real. The things that go bump in the night, the monsters lurking in the shadows. All of it was real.

"I was so scared I didn't know what to do. My parents didn't know what was wrong, what scared me so badly. Finally I told them...and they thought I was crazy. So one day we all got in the car to go somewhere. They told me that we were going on a family outing. I thought we were going to see a movie or something. We didn't go to the movies. They took me to a 'hospital' where I could get 'help' and they locked me up. I was in the ward with the older children, all female.

"Most of the orderlies there were male. Not all, but most. And they were the ones who usually worked the night shift. They weren't the kindest of people.

"At night they would always make sure we were strapped in properly, but not so we wouldn't fall out of the bed, or to give us our medicine... They thought we were put there for their 'pleasure' and they made sure we knew it. No one told; they threatened us with worse if we did," Buffy paused, looking down at her clasped hands resting on her knees.

She waited a moment before continuing. Harry could have sworn there were tears running down her face, but it was too dark out to tell without her facing him.

"I never told anyone before."

"Then why tell me?" Harry gently asked her. All his anger had melted away as he watched and listened to her talk.

"Because I trust you," she told him, turning to face the young wizard. "And there's something you need to understand."

"What?"

"I'm getting there. Not long after that I started to lie to the doctors until they were convinced I was 'cured' and they sent me home. Everything was okay for a while. But then my destiny caught up with me and I realized it wasn't a nightmare; it was very much real.

"Merrick, my watcher, started to train and guide me...He was killed because of it; because of me. And he wasn't the only one who was hurt or killed because of me either.

"There was Merrick of course, my parents and family, Pike, everyone at Hermery High... Jesse, Giles, Willow, Xander, Ford, Kendra, Angel, Lilly, Faith, the deputy mayor, all of Sunnydale High... Wesley, Eddie, Riley, Forrest, Olivia, Tara... my mom... the potentials, so many others who I never even knew...you. The list just goes on. I'm sure you probably have your own by now as well. It's probably not as long as mine yet and I can't promise you that it will ever stop growing. But I can promise you that no matter what, if you'll have me, I'll always be there for you whenever you need me."

"That's great and all but what-" Harry cut in.

"What's my point?" Buffy asked him.

Harry nodded.

"I'm getting there. Don't worry. I know you probably just want to cut everyone off and

out of your life. That way they don't get hurt. You're trying to protect them. It's natural to try to protect those that you love, but it won't help any. Trust me, I know. I've tried.

"The people in there, in the castle, love you and want to help you in this. If you try to keep them away from everything then they're just going to fight back even harder. Just think of it this way: without those people you're trying to push away, you wouldn't have any reason to fight the good fight, or any fight at all for that matter. Besides, I can tell you right now that with or without you tomorrow, those people will still be fighting. You can't stop them. This war has been going on longer than you've been alive and the people fighting against it right now are not going to just stop and sit back because you don't want them to get hurt. With or without you they are going tomorrow. It's just up to you whether you let them fight alongside you. Now answer me this: those people in there, are they worth fighting for?"

"Yes."

"Then don't push them away; even if it is for your own sanity. You need them to win this in more ways than one... Do you understand, Harry?"

"I think so," Harry answered.

Silently, just as she had come, Buffy stood up to leave. As she brushed off her pants and was making her way away from the lake, Harry remembered something she had said earlier.

"Prof- Buffy!" Harry called after her. "Wait! I have to ask you something."

Buffy stopped and turned around. "What is it?"

"Earlier, when you were talking to me you said something that confused me."

"Well, what was it?" Buffy asked him as she sat back down.

"You said you've been through some of the same things as me but you never said what," Harry explained. "And then in you list you mentioned you mom twice. You said 'my parents...and my mom.' What did you mean?"

'Oh gosh,' Buffy thought, cradling her head in her hands. 'I knew I would have to tell him sooner or later. I was just hoping it would have been later... Here goes. Hopefully after this he won't hate me for keeping it a secret.'

"Harry," Buffy told him. "You might want to get comfortable. This might take a while."

Meanwhile, in an empty Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione sat by the fire in silence. Hermione was perfectly content with the silence; it allowed her to sort through her thoughts. Ron, however, was about as uncomfortable in the silence as his twin brothers were without practical jokes and pranks. It just seemed unnatural. But every time Ron started to say something to break the silence, no sound came out. Instead, Ron just wound up looking like a mute goldfish attempting to speak.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ron was able to find his voice.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, successfully gaining her attention.

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione turned in her seat to look at him.

"There's been something I've been trying to tell you for a while now," Ron told her. "I just can't ever seem to find the words or courage to tell you."

"Well, what is it?" Hermione asked, both curious and nervous. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"That's what I'm hoping," Ron answered.

He held his breath for a moment before continuing.

"You see," he said. "For a while now I've had feelings for a certain person, but I'm not sure if this person likes me like that."

"Do I know this person?"

"Um... yeah," Ron told her. "That's why I came to you. You see, I don't know what to do. I mean, what if I tell this person I like them and they don't like me back? I don't want to ruin our friendship just because of it, you know? I've been really good friends, best friends even, with this person since what seems like forever. I love what we have, and I don't want to ruin

it if I'm wrong. But I'm afraid if I don't then I may never have a chance with this person. And with the big fight being tomorrow night, a part of me is afraid tonight may be my only chance if they don't make it through the battle. I don't want to take the chance that I'll never be able to tell this person how I feel about them."

At hearing this, a lot thoughts were flying through Hermione's head as she tried to piece together the clues about who this mystery person is that Ron likes. 'Let me see,' she thought. 'It's someone Ron is really close to... best friends even, for a long time...and the only close friends of Ron's that I know about hat fit that description are Harry and-Oh my gosh! Why didn't I see it before? I'm not usually this dense. That's usually Ron's area... Oh my gosh, Ron! He's just sitting there and staring at me. I have to let him know that I know.'

"Ron," Hermione said. "I know and I'm so sorry I didn't notice before, especially after all these

years."

"Does that mean you..." Ron trailed off with a smile on his face.

"Of course I'll still be your friend. Nothing can change that," Hermione told him. "Besides, I'm sure you and Harry will be very happy together."

"I like yo- What!" Ron exclaimed. "No! Hermione, I don't like Harry like that... I like you."

"But that means you.." Hermione trailed off as a smile broke out on her face.

Before Ron could respond Hermione launched herself at him with such force that they both toppled off of the couch. Hermione and Ron were so focused on each other and each other's lips that neither of then noticed this little stumble. Only when they came up for air did they realize that they were now on the floor. Though neither seemed to care that much. They both had more important things on their minds at the moment. Like each other.

"Does that mean you'll go out with me, 'Mione?" Ron asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Do you even have to ask?" Hermione asked him before she attacked his lips once more.

T.B.C.

IMPORTANT Author's Note: One, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter and I am sorry to inform you all that there will only be one more chapter to go. And two, in the last chapter I started a poll as to which fic I should work on next once I've finished this one. I had two summaries listed but I forgot to list the second two. There was actually supposed to be four potential stories to vote on so I'll list them all this time. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and tell me which fic you would most like to see next. Thank you. The fics are:

1) Buffy/Spike pairing. Non-crossover. Set both during both 6th and 3rd season of BtVS. When Buffy and Spike got together in S6 they mated/bonded and didn't hide it from everyone. They're relationship wasn't the violent relationship that Joss showed... it was only violent when they wanted it to be. but one night while patrolling, Buffy and Spike were thrust through a portal, only to find themselves in Sunnydale three years in the past. The question now is how do they return home without changing the future?

2) Buffy/Faith pairing. BtVS/HP crossover. Set during season 3 of BtVS and in an alt 7th year of HP. There is a prophecy against Voldemort involving twins. On the year the twins were foretold to be born, two sets were born instead of one. So instead of getting rid of one set of twins, Voldemort had one child of each set taken care of. 17 years later, both sets of twins are reunited and the prophecy begins to take action. It won't be long before Voldemort realizes this and tries to right his wrongs made 17 years ago.

3) Harry/Draco pairing. Non-crossover. Set after HBP. After Dumbledore's death, there is nothing stopping Voldemort from coming after him himself, 24/7. One night on Privite Dr., Death Eaters attack and kill the Dursley's. Harry escapes and runs off to hide in muggle London where he meets another fellow runaway whom he least expected to encounter.

4) Pairing not yet decided. Non-crossover. Starts withthe first HP book. What if Lilly Evans never married James Potter, but married Severus Snape instead? Would Harry still be orphaned? Would he still be The-Boy-Who-Lived? Would he still be in Gryffindor fighting against Voldemort, or would he be in Slytherin and fighting for the Dark Lord instead?

Also, one more thing. I know I haven't done the trivia questions the past couple of chapters, but I've been really busy. So here is a set of questions, and the last questions may I add. They are worth 5 points each, or if all answered corectly then they are worth a total of 25 points. Good Luck!

1) Where is the Watcher's Retreat held every year?

2) What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?

3) Who is Tucker and just who is his brother?

4) What is Ron's favorite Quidditch team?


	15. Chapter 49

**Author's Note: _IMPORTANT_**Four months later and here I am, up and running with the last chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to finally update but ut wasn't in my control. First off let me say that BMT (basic military training/aka boot camp) does not last that long, it just took me that long to actually get my computer. I am curently in my tech school and training to be a cop in the military and I am engaged. So on top of it all I also have a wedding to plan. And yes, this is saddly the last chapter so I hope you all really enjoy this as much as I did writing it. But on the bright side it is also the longest chapter. Enjoy; you all have been great. Goddess bless.

**A/N 2: **The answers to the previous trivia questions are as follows: the Watcher's Retreat is held annually in The Cotswolds, there is no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane (they are the same thing), Tucker's older brother is Andrew, and Ron's favorite Quittitch team is the Chudley Cannons. Thank you all who reviewed and good job for those of you who answered correctly. two thumbs up... Ooh! Almost forgot, I put in a little joke in here about Air Force BMT. All you unfortunate hurt or sick people who've been sent to this place will know what I'm talking about when you read it. LOL.

Previously on Phoenix Child:

_"You said you've been through some of the same things as me but you never said what," Harry explained. "And then in you listed you mentioned you mom twice. You said 'my parents...and my mom.' What did you mean?"_

_'Oh gosh,' Buffy thought, cradling her head in her hands. 'I knew I would have to tell him sooner or later. I was just hoping it would have been later... Here goes. Hopefully after this he won't hate me for keeping it a secret.'_

_"Harry," Buffy told him. "You might want to get comfortable. This might take a while."_

_"Of course I'll still be your friend. Nothing can change that," Hermione told him. "Besides, I'm sure you and Harry will be very happy together."_

_"I like yo- What!" Ron exclaimed. "No! Hermione, I don't like Harry like that... I like you."_

_"But that means you.." Hermione trailed off as a smile broke out on her face._

_Before Ron could respond Hermione launched herself at him with such force that they both toppled off of the couch. Hermione and Ron were so focused on each other and each other's lips that neither of then noticed this little stumble. Only when they came up for air did they realize that they were now on the floor. Though neither seemed to care that much. They both had more important things on their minds at the moment. Like each other._

_"Does that mean you'll go out with me, 'Mione?" Ron asked with a huge smile on his face._

_"Do you even have to ask?" Hermione asked him before she attacked his lips once more._

Chapter 49

Harry sat back down, curious as to what Buffy had to say. He knew he shouldn't trust a word she said, but there was just something about her that told him differently. While around her Harry felt a sense of peace, comfort, and framilitarity. And her eyes... there was something about her eyes that he knew he had seen somewhere before, he just couldn't put his finger on where. But Harry let his curiosity of her eyes hold for now while he waited for his professor to continue.

"You see, I actually used to go to Hogwarts," Buffy startd her tale. "I was in Gryffindor as a matter of fact; the best house there is."

Buffy smiled at that last part. Harry couldn't agree more. In his opinion Gryffindor was the best. But then again he might be a litte biased in that area.

"I lived a pretty normal childhood. Well, as normal a chidhood as any witch or wizard could have," Buffy continued. "I was the youngest of two children; I had an older brother who I adored. We shared some of the same friends and he was always extremely protective when it came to me.

"Then one night, just a month before my fifteenth birthday, that all changed.

"Ja-my brother, some of our friends, and I were all at our house. Our parents were out that night and they told us we coud have a few friends over, so we did. Everything was going fine until later that night when Death Eaters stormed the house.

"None of us knew what was going on and for some reason their main target was me: a fourteen year old girl who never did anything special her entire life. Aside from my fear and panic I couldn't hep but wonder why they wanted me. But the curiouser thing was that they didn't try to kill me; they wanted me alive.

"They stunned my brother and our friends, grabbed me, and ran. Aurors showed up trying to stop them. They chased after us until they caught up and stunned the Death Eaters and saved me. Then minister showed up and the Aurors turned me over to him, thinking I was in safe hands.

"Well, I heard the Fudge talking to one of the Aurors, our very own Alastor Moody. Fudge basically told Moody to kill me, he didn't want me, a person the Dark Lord dearly wanted alive for some unknown reason, to cause a turn in the war. He didn't want to take the chance that I would join Voldy.

"When Moody came for me he knew I had heard everything and he couldn't kill me. Instead he changed the memory of the other Aurors who had seen me alive and transfigured a tree branch to look like my body. Then he modified his own memory and brought my 'body' to Fudge and the rest of the wizarding world, but not before giving me a new memory and sending me half way accross the world to live a different life and ultimately be safe.

"Little did he know that you can't change destiny.

"The next thing I knew I woke up in my room, in Las Angeles California, as one Buffy Summers, daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers. My new life had nothing to do with magic and was as normal as normal could be.

"About a month later a man came up to me and told me I had a destiny. He told me I was the Vampire Slayer, the Chosen One. You know what happened from there.

"But like I said, I became Buffy Summers. I wasn't born that."

With that Buffy took a long breath and studied Harry before continuing.

"I was born Elizabeth... Potter.

James, your father, was my brother."

Harry was silent a long while after that. He didn't know what to think. His aunt, who he had been looking for for the past two months, had been right next to him the entire time... and she had never said a thing.

He just... he couldn't think. There was too much going through his head right now and he honestly didn't know what to do. So he did the only thing he could think of: he stood up and looked to Buffy.

"I... I can't think right now," Harry said.

"Harry, I know it's a lot to-" Buffy started to reach towards him.

"Don't! Just don't touch me," Harry told her before running off torwards the castle, leaving Buffy out in the cold with her head in her hands.

The next morning, after everyone had gotten some well needed sleep and rest for the coming battle, everyone met in the Great Hall for some waffles and battle plans.

The Hogwarts professors were discussing different hexes and potions to use and the Sunnydale gang were discussing wandless magic and combat techniques. Snape was mulling over different potions and Willow and Buffy were practicing wandless shielding spells while the rest of the Order conversed with members of the Scooby Gang. Giles, Dumbledore, and Lupin talked in one section of the table; Anya and Tonks seemd to be getting along; Xander and Sirius found they had more in common then either previously thought; Hermione and Ron didn't even know the rest of the people in the room existed; and Harry was nowhere to be seen. Ron said he wanted to sleep a little longer but Buffy knew the real reason he hadn't come to breakfast with the rest of them: her.

As the day went on so did the tension. The time for the battle was growing nearer and nearer. Potions were brewed, spells were collected and practiced, and battle plans were made. Now all they had to do was wait... and wait.

While everyone was prepairing and waiting, Buffy left for her classroom where she was meditating. She would have gone to her bed chamber, but for some reason her tuition told her not to. It was a good thing she listened to it because not long after she began her meditation the door to her classroom opened and in walked the person she least expected to ever talk to her again.

"Prof- ...Buf- ...Eliz-...Aun-...," Harry said, sitting next to heron the floor, "I don't even know what to call you."

"Call me Buffy," she told him. "I've been that the longest. And before you begin, I never meant to hurt you. You have to know that. All I ever wanted was to protect you and get to know you. You're the only family I have left."

"It took me a while but I know you never meant to hurt me," Harry said. "For so long I felt like I was alone. I mean I had friends and everything, but they could never really understand what I'm going through. And then you came and I finally found someone who I could relate with. And you also turned out to be my aunt.

"At first I was upset and angry that you hid that from me but then I realized that in your position I would have done the same thing," Harry told her. "I just have one question."

"Anything," Buffy answered.

"When this battle is done and if we all survive... can I come live with you?"

At first Buffy was shocked, but she soon got over it.

She threw her arms around her nephew and told him, "Of course you can. You're always welcome to live with me. I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah," Harry told her, hugging her back. "I love you, too."

After the two finished their hugging they got up off the floor and began to make their way to the Great Hall where the rest of the Order and Scooby Gang were situated. Once they made it to the door Buffy stopped and ran towards her desk in the back of the room.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "I forgot my wand."

"That's okay," Harry told her. "I'll just wait here until you're done."

Buffy frantically started searching every compartment of her desk and could not find her wand anywhere. Finally remembering that she had left it in her bed chambers she crossed the floor to the portrait leading to her room.

"Harry," Buffy called to him. "I left it in my room. I'll just be a minute."

And with that she said the password to the entrence of her room and then entered to quicky grab her wand.

However, once Buffy walked through the portrait a voice spoke up behind Harry.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potter," the Death Eater taunted, drawing out his wand. "There's no Dumbledore to save you this time, is there? Who's going to save you now?"

Stepping out of her room, Buffy spoke up. "I am."

And with that she pulled out her wand and sent a disarming charm towards him. The Death Eater never knew what hit him and before he knew it he was hit again, quite literary this time. With super human strength and speed Buffy knocked the bastard unconcious and left with Harry to warn the others. She had moved so fast Harry had barely seen her move.

"How did you mo-" Harry went to ask before his fall cut him off.

All of a sudden the earth started shake and all the candles were blown out. The paintings shook and glass from the windows shattered. They both knew that the time for warnings was gone for the war had already begun. They also knew that it wouldn't be long now before the demons started pouring in.

"Later," Buffy told him, already grabbing him and racing towards the Great Hall. "First we've got to find the others. Hurry!"

Buffy and Harry practically flew through the cooradors and up the stairs towards the Great Hall. Once the two reached their destination it was obvious that a warning wasn't needed. The Great Hall, as well as all the occupants in it, were already under seige. So instead of rushing in like two chickens with their heads cut off they snuck in and began fighting. All throughout the Great Hall curses and hexes were being thrown left and right and up and down. Swords were clashing and axes were swinging.

Giles and Xander were fighting off some demons with swords and battle axes by the head table, Spike was wailing on some vamps in one corner, and Anya hit a Death Eater over the head with a frying pan when he tried to get to Xander. Dumbledore and Lupin were duling some Death Eaters on one side of the hall while Peeves dumped a large bowl of mashed potatoes over the head of an unsuspecting demon. Everyone was joining in on the fight and no side looked as if they had the upper hand. Buffy knew something had to be done and done fast if they ever wanted a chance of coming out of this thing alive. She would worry about them being in one piece later.

Buffy looked around and saw that Willow was hidden behind an over turned table preparing a spell and Fred and George were sneeking behind a small group of Death Eaters with what looked like their latest experiment. She only hoped that it wasn't something stupid. And without another thought, with her ax in one hand and her wand in the other, Buffy herself lept into the action.

The battle went on and many were severly injured and some were dead. It finally looked as if the balance of the war had tipped and unfortunately it wasn't in their favor. No matter how many Death Eaters, demons, or vampires they killed it didn't seem to be enough; they just kept coming. For once Buffy didn't think they were going to make it. That is until something happened, or someone.

One minute everyone was fighting and the next minute they were blinded. A brilliant, blinding white light filled the entire room. The Scoobies and the Order all hid their eyes to keep from going blind. Then, as fast as it came, the light disappeared. When the white hats opened their eyes they realized all of three things. One, that the Death Eaters had closed their eyes as well and were equaly surprised about the light; two, that the light had not only extinguished itself but all the demons and vampires with it; and three, that there was a small red head standing in the middle of the room who seemed to know exactly what happened.

"It worked!" Willow happily squeeked and then ducking when a Death Eater shot s curse by her head. "Hey! That wasn't very nice."

The red headed witch ducked again and shot her own curse back at the masked wizard, hitting her mark... and then sticking out her tongue in triumph.

Just as the fight was about to start up again everyone froze as the double doors to the Great Hall swung open and a hooded figure half slithered in. The figure stood over six feet tall and had paleish green skin, two slits for a nose, and black snake like eyes with a bald head. The Death Eaters bowed towards their Dark Lord, the Order gasped and glared, and Anya looked on in disgust.

"Voldemort," Harry whispered loud enough for eveyone to hear.

"Hello, Harry," Voldemort hissed. "We are going to finish thisss once and for all and thisss time your mother won't be there to sssave you. Neither will anyone elssse."

Before anyone could make a move Voldemort muttered a spell with his wand and a barrier formed around the two wizards, both keeping any other from interfering with his plans and keeping Harry from trying to run away. This time he wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop him. The Dark Lord was going to have his revenge once and for all. And when he was done with the Potter brat no one would ever question his power or authority again.

Encircled in a domed shield the two began to fight. When Voldemort shot a curse at Harry Harry would duck and throw a counter spell back at the Dark Lord. Harry went from offensive to defensive and back to offensive. Neither wizard seemed to be gaining the upper hand and no one on the outside was gaining any leverage of deflating the shield. The fight continued and the war waged on.

Outside of the shield nearly all of the Death Eaters had either been defeated and captured or had fled for their lives. This was all because of a petite red headed witch and her gang of friends. Buffy had broken nearly 30 bones of unsuspecting Death Eaters and had already killed and decapitated 50 or so demons vampires. She blaze of blonde furry and nothing stood in her way. Xander had captured his own share of Death Eaters and had bagged quite a few vamps and demons along the way as well. Giles and Voldemort were working side by side taking down Death Eaters and comparing notes. The Scooby Gang and Order were working side by side to win this war but for some reason unknown Anya refused to use anything other than an iron skillet.

But the site to behold that had all the Death Eaters scared for their lives was Willow. Her eyes had gone completely jat black and her hair had darkened so much it looked like the shade od thick, dark rich blood. The air around her crackled with magic which made everyone's hair on their arms stand on edge. The magic around her crackled like electricity and anyone who tried to tap into her gained the effect like a fly in a bug zapper. Only instead of insects it was trained to feed on evil and darkness.

Once all the Death Eaters were either apprehended or AWOL and all the demons and vampires were dead Willow concentrated all her power on the shield. She just didn't know if her power would be enough. But she didn't have to worry for long. Soon enough Buffy took her right hand in hers, freely giving Willow all her power and Xander did the same. In no time at all all the members of the Order and the Scooby had their hands clasped and were in a circle surrounding the shield that held the two dueling wizards.

Willow channeled her and everyone elses energy and power into the shield. As the magic was gathered and increased in its power the shield began to glow an earthly light and the air around it began to pulsate with excess magic from the castle.

Meanwhile, inside the shield, both wizards began to weaken but neither would give in. At the moment they were fighting with all their might. They even managed to hit each a time or two, but never leaving any withstanding damage.

But both wizards knew that their fight had to come to an end and soon if either wanted any chance at pulling out of this war alive. Voldemort knew the time had finally come and Harry felt the same; he knew that this was the end one way or another. Voldemort and Harry raised their wands at the same time and yelled out:

"Avada Kadavera!"

The green lights from their wands hit at the same time as a bright, white light joined from the outside. Harry and Voldemort put all they had into this last spell but with the extra power added from the foreign magic Voldemort never stood a chance. All of a sudden all three lights exploded in a mixture of white and green, blinding all the occupants in the Great Hall. When the lights extinguished themselves the shield no longer existed. In it's place was a fallen Harry. Voldemort was no where to be seen.

Everyone rushed forward to see if their savior made it. Harry was alive, but just barely. His heart beat was weak and growing weaker by the minute. If he didn't receive medical attention soon no one knew if he was going to survive.

Dumdledore muttered a spell under his breath which caused Harry's body to start floating above ground until it disappeared with a cracking noise.

"Where are you sending him, Albus?" Molly Weasley asked, concerned.

"Since the shields from Hogwarts are currently down due to the late war and Madame Pomfrey isn't here I've sent him to St. Mongos," Dumbledore told everyone. "He should be in room 319 if I am correct. He will be on med hold for a while but he will get better, no worries. It will just take time with what he's just been through. I will have a portkey ready in an hour in my offic for all who wish to visit him. Right now however I have a ministry to contact and some Death Eaters to see to."

The headmaster turned to leave the Great Hall but paused at what was left at the double doors and turned to everyone, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"While everyone is waiting I do believe someone needs to get something off her chest," Dumbledore said, turning to Buffy. "Isn't that right Miss Potter?"

With that he left while everyone minus Remus and Mad Eye were staring at Buffy with expectant and surprised glares. Sirius' however showed nothing but pain before running off. No one besides Buffy noticed. She went to run after him but everyone stood in her way.

Later, after she had been interrigated by all of the Order Buffy was walking around looking for Sirius. Who she found however was Spike.

"Hello, luv," Spike greeted her, bending down to give her a kiss but Buffy interrupted it.

"Spike, I can't," She told him. "I'm sorry."

"Why not?"

"It's... Spike, there's something I need to tell you," Buffy said, looking in his eyes. "In the Hellmouth, I-"

"I know," he told her softly, looking down before looking her in her eyes in return. "I just hoped."

"I really am sorry."

"I know... Go get him, luv. You deserve each other," Spike told her softly.

Buffy always knew she underestimated but she never knew how much until now. She reached up and kissed his cheek.

"You never cease to amaze me."

Spike smiled softly at her. "I know. Now get out of here before I change my mind."

Buffy smiled back and returned on her search for Sirius.

Sirius and Buffy, after much talking and making up, decided to get back together and start where they left off all those years ago. After two years, Sirius was finally pernounced innocent of all previous murder charges. Sirius and Buffy got married a year after Sirius was cleared and they later had twins, one girl and one boy. They're names are Abagale "Abby" Euripities Black and Marcellus "Marc" Everette Black.

Remus and Tonks found love in each other and married four years later. On their wedding day, their godchildren, Marc and Abby were born.

Galiana never did give up bothering the snarky potions master. Snape and Galiana will not speak directly about what is going on between them, they want to keep whatever they have going on a secret. In other words, all of Hogwarts knows. They have not yet made the final step, but word has it that Snape has a ring in his pocket that he is going to give to Galiana next week, on the eve of their 2nd anniversary. And people say he has no charm.

Xander finally did marry Anya. But the two did not have a big wedding like expected. The two eloped in Las Vegas two months after Buffy and Sirius were married. They are expecting their first child at the end of June.

Harry and Luna dated for a while but eventually went on separate paths in life. Neither regretted the time they spent together and they've remained friends. Luna took over the Quibbler when her father died and Harry is now a successful auror at the Ministry.

Ron and Hermione married a little over year after they graduated from Hogwarts and have been married ever since. They have four beautiful children and they all have red, unrully hair. The children take after both their mother and their father.

Spike finally did find out why he was brought back. It turns out that the Powers that Be brought him back. If the PTB hadn't brought him back, then old Voldy would have. That would have not been a good thing. Spike is now a famous writer. No, not for his bloody aweful poetry, but for his novels about a certain vampire named William the Bloody. The muggle world believes the chronicles to be a work of fiction, but thw wizarding world knows differently.

Voldemort tried to come back for years on end. After a while, everyone was so used to his tricks that they didn't really notice it anymore. Every year he tried to come back, the more his powers weakened. But his powers weren't the only thing that shrunk. One year when the Scoobies all got together for a reunion, they were so drunk that they mistook the Dark Lord for the fear demon. Anya, having regained her powers, froze him while Willow made him into a keychain. About a month later, Xander found him under the couch and sold him on E-Bay. The world has never been the same since.

The End... Or is it?


End file.
